《Legacy of the Ancient》


 Chapter 1 - Legacy

    A cool breeze blew from the tallest mountain of Valfikr Continent, Hamaral, over the lush forest of Barm as the sunlight shone brightly from the horizon. The fog dissipated signifying the dawn was here.


    At the forest entrance, a boy was inhaling the morning air deeply with his nose and calmly exhaling from his mouth. Then with a smile, he entered the forest. Not long after that, another boy and girl appeared at the entrance.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ why does Cain always go first, and not wait for us? Aren¡¯t we supposed to practice together?¡± said the girl.


    ¡°Well, he is the one that always practice harder than us anyway,¡± The boy replied to the girl while scratching his head. ¡°Come on then, can¡¯t make Cain practice alone forever!¡± The boy continued, then they entered the forest.


    Barm Forest was part of the most prosperous Kingdom in the Valfikr continent, Arozora Kingdom. The forest was located just in the outskirts of Aroum, the capital city of Arozora Kingdom. Between the forest and the capital, laid Palvaran Orphanage where the 3 kids came from.


    In the Barm Forest, a man with big stature was walking in the forest, with brown hair and a bushy beard. He wore a dark green cloak, and simple clothing inside. When he reached a cliff, he saw the 3 kids. If someone saw them, they would think they were just kids playing around in the forest with a small branch stick, but upon seeing that, the man had another opinion.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ such playful kids¡­ pla-... nah, practicing in the forest, how fun, might join them later," the man let a little smile out, then continued walking deeper into the forest.


    ¡°Ouch! Ouch!¡± Cain put his hand on his head.


    ¡°You lose again," the girl was talking to Cain while writing on the ground with a twig. ¡°Cain 0 - Higa 8.¡±


    ¡°Fuhahahaha, just admit it Cain, you can¡¯t win against me! Hahahahaha,¡± the other boy - Higa, laughed with his hands on his hip.


    ¡°N-No! I¡¯ll hit a score! Lexa! Prepare to put 1 on my name! Higa! Get ready! Hyaaahh!!!¡± Cain charged towards Higa, just after three steps a twig hit Cain¡¯s head.


    ¡°Arrgh!! Lexa why¡¯d you do that!?¡± Cain¡¯s hands on his head again.


    ¡°It¡¯s already noon, let¡¯s have lunch, Aunt Germi made us steamed red potato," said Lexa.


    ¡°Oh you¡¯re right, come on, Cain. Let¡¯s eat first, then i¡¯m gonna hit you again," Higa grinned.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah," Cain was annoyed.


    They sat under a big tree.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been doing this for month, right?¡± Higa said while stuffing red potato into his mouth. A bag full of steamed red potatoes in front of them.


    ¡°Yep, we¡¯re gonna get stronger and become rich!¡± said Cain while clenching his fist in the air.


    ¡°We gonna make Aunt Germi stop worrying about us and make her happy!¡± Higa continued while stuffing more red potatoes in his mouth.


    Aunt Germi was the only caretaker of the Palvaran Orphanage, she¡¯s 54 years old. The orphanage was funded by a friend of Aunt Germi at the Capital.


    Palvaran Orphanage only had five orphan kids, because orphaned kids were mainly victims from war, in this peaceful time, therefore, there were only a few of them. The only threat that still remains was the existence of a wild beast that roamed the continent. Many became a Hunter to slay such a beast to keep the balance between humanity and the beast.


    Cain¡¯s parents were one of them, until they met their end while on a quest slaying a savage beast that ran amok in the outskirt of Arozora Kingdom, the beast was slain, but the group of 17 that hunted it also perished. Only two returned to the capital. Palvaran Orphanage then took care of Cain because he had no other family, he was 5 years old when that happened. As for Lexa, she was taken in by Aunt Germi from the Capital because her parents died of illness. While Higa was an outcast of a certain family because he¡¯s an illegitimate child, so the orphanage took him.


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s our dream after all!¡± Lexa replied to Cain and Higa, all of them laughed.


    The sun made its exit with an orange gradient in the sky.


    Higa and Lexa had went back to the orphanage to help Aunt Germi with food and chores. At night before sleep, they usually study basic knowledge with Aunt Germi.


    In the forest, Cain was still swinging his branch stick.


    ¡°Huff huff¡­ it''s almost dark, time to go back then," Cain wiped his sweat on his forehead.


    Just right when he turned around, a man with dark green robe came upon him.


    ¡°Whoaaa!!¡± Cain nearly fell.


    ¡°You okay, boy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!! I was shocked though!¡± said Cain.


    The man smiled.


    ¡°Who are you? Eh wait¡­ Aunt Germi said you have to properly introduce yourself before you ask someone else¡¯s name. Buuuut¡­¡± Cain put his hand on his chin.


    ¡°I already asked, so it¡¯s too late right? Hehe," Cain scratched his head.


    ¡°Haha! No boy, it¡¯s not too late, but I¡¯ll make this exception by introducing myself to you. My name is Igo, and yours?¡±


    ¡°My name is Cain! What are you doing here, old man?¡±


    ¡°Gehh! Don¡¯t call me old! I¡¯m not that old!¡±


    ¡°Heeee¡­ but you have a beard, only an old man would have ¡®em right?¡±


    ¡°W-well that¡¯s true but at least call me uncle, okay?¡±


    ¡°Nooo¡­ old man Igo sounds cool!¡± Cain grinned widely.


    ¡°Cool? W-well if you think so,¡± Igo puffed his chest. ¡°That aside, I¡¯m here because I saw you guys practicing, looks like it¡¯s already over huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my friends already went back and I was just about to go back before you popped out. By the way old man you¡¯re sooo huge!¡±


    Igo¡¯s figure was really big, He¡¯s about 1.9 meters tall, that made Cain looked really small.


    ¡°People tell me that a lot,¡± Igo sat on a big root. ¡°So, how old are you, Cain?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ 10 years old!¡± Cain counted with his fingers before answering.


    ¡°You don¡¯t go to school?¡± asked Igo.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Cain shook his head. ¡°I live at the orphanage near the forest entrance,¡± he pointed towards the orphanage direction.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see¡­ So, why are you swinging that branch?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m practicing everyday to become strong!¡± said Cain proudly.


    ¡°Why do you need to be strong?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I want to get a job and have money! So, Aunt Germi won''t worry about us! Or maybe get outside Arozora and see the world! And become an Adventurer!¡± said Cain with a wide smile.


    In Arozora Kingdom, one person''s ability and talent could determine his/her own future within the Kingdom. With enough knowledge, one could even compete for the King¡¯s Throne.


    ¡°See the world eh? That¡¯s fun¡­¡± mumbled Igo.


    ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, that sounds fun.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Cain made a big smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s already dark, let me walk you to the orphanage," said Igo.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Cain nodded.


    Distance between Barm Forest to the orphanage only took 20 minutes by foot, and 1 hour to Aroum City.


    They walked to the orphanage and when they arrived, Cain entered the orphanage to call Aunt Germi, but when Aunt Germi stepped outside from the front door, Igo was nowhere to be found.


    Aroum City Palace


    ¡°Majesty! Where have you been!?¡± a white haired man shouted to Igo, he was Arozora Kingdom King¡¯s aide, Dios. He was a close friend to Igo far from before Igo became the King, also titled as the Left Hand of the King.


    ¡°Dios, stop shouting, it¡¯s not good for your back," the King laughed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been gone all day! Not accompanied by any guards! And you just skipped dinner with an important guest!¡± Dios kept shouting.


    ¡°Ooh crap!! I forgot about that! Oh, well whatever," said the King.


    ¡°And what are you wearing!? commoner clothes?¡± Dios pointed his finger to the robe that the King wore.


    ¡°Hey!! This is my favourite robe! And look at the color! It¡¯s dark green! It¡¯s Arozora¡¯s Queen¡¯s favourite color!¡±


    ¡°Haaahh¡­ if the Queen were still alive, she¡¯d totally deny it," Dios sighed.


    ¡°Hahahaha! You always guess it right!¡± The King gave a thumbs up to Dios.


    ¡°So, where did you go?¡±


    ¡°Just sightseeing around the outskirts of the Kingdom, and met a funny kid. He didn¡¯t even know his King¡¯s name!¡± The King laughed.


    King Iligo Maxigun, the 57th king of Arozora Kingdom, had been ruling Arozora for 14 years. He grasped the King¡¯s throne when he was 35 years old. The Kingdom of Arozora wasn''t adopting lineage for a future King, instead anyone could become the King, even a child of farmer could become the Kingdom¡¯s ruler if he/she had what it took.


    The system was called Ruler¡¯s Truth, anyone could challenge the current king for the throne, but it¡¯s not as simple as it seemed. The challenger must compete with the king from every aspect. Combat, magic, war tactic, economic knowledge, diplomatic capability, even art. If the challenger wins more than half from those aspects, he would be crowned king, if only half, the last King would still reign. Only Arozora Kingdom had this system in the continent.


    Iligo beat the late king with overwhelming victory, winning in every aspect. His carefree attitude and kindness also made him loved by the people. From all aspects, combat was the main point of Iligo¡¯s talent. Titled ¡°The Mighty Iligo¡± by neighbor Kingdoms because no one in the Valfikr continent could beat him in combat.


    Even with great power, Igo did not have a warseeker mindset, never had any intention to span territory of Arozora. Despite his prowess, he always treated other Kingdoms as friends, thus made the Kingdoms of the Valfikr continent treat him with deep respect.


    The next day


    Igo visited the kids in the forest.


    ¡°Hello kids," Igo greeted the kids.


    ¡°Ah, old man! You come again?¡± Cain stopped swinging his branch stick.


    ¡±Guys, this is the old man I''m talking about," Cain introduced Igo while Higa and Lexa approached Igo.


    ¡°Hello uncle, I¡¯m Lexa and this is Higa," said Lexa. Higa waved both hands in the air.


    ¡°Ooooh, a well mannered one, unlike the one I met yesterday, pfff...¡± Igo glanced at Cain.


    ¡°Cain is always like that, he always get scolded by Aunt Germi everyday," Higa said that while laughing.


    ¡°Hehehe," Cain scratched his head.


    ¡°You are as old as Cain?¡± asked Igo.


    ¡°I¡¯m 9 years old and Higa is 10 years old," Lexa replied.


    ¡°I see. Anyway, you guys want to become strong, right? Then how about this uncle teach you guys? I know a little bit of combat and magic.¡±


    ¡°You can use magic uncle!??¡± The Trio spoke at the same time except Cain, ¡®old man¡¯.


    ¡°Yes I can," Igo picked a small stone from the ground, he opened his palm and the stone was floating around above his hand.


    Everyone was born with magic capabilities, it¡¯s just up to themselves to hone their innate talent or not. About half the population of Arozora Kingdom learnt magic.


    ¡°This is elemental magic, earth manipulation magic, There¡¯s two kind of elemental magic, manipulation and creation magic," said Igo.


    He raised his other hand. Out of thin air, small rocks appeared and gathered at the center of his hand, those small rocks merged into a head sized rock, floating above his hand.


    ¡°And this is creation magic.¡±


    ¡°Wooaahh¡­¡± The Trio couldn''t take their eyes off of the floating rock and stone.


    ¡°Know the difference?¡± Igo looked at the Trio.


    ¡°Yes! Manipulation magic is controlling what element around you and creation magic is uh¡­ umm¡­ make any magic from nothing?¡± Lexa answered with sparkling eyes.


    ¡°Hooo, short and on point answer!¡± Igo surprised at Lexa¡¯s answer. ¡°Just like what it¡¯s called, manipulation magic is controlling the elements around you, and creation magic is creating any form of magic from nothing.¡±


    Only 1 out of 100 people was blessed with the ability of creation magic. The rests were either only manipulation magic or no talent in magic at all.


    ¡°Teach us uncle!¡± The Trio cheered just like kids that just found a new toy.


    ¡°You can do combat technique too, uncle?¡± Higa asked enthusiastically.


    ¡°Hoho, of course,¡± Igo looked around. ¡°Hmm there!¡± Igo walked towards a huge stone, about as tall as him. Igo took a stance, suddenly the ground under his foot cracked, and he threw a straight punch to the stone.


    A breaking sound made a flock of birds flew from the trees.


    Igo¡¯s big fist was buried in the stone. He made a hole as big as his fist.


    ¡°That¡¯s a simple technique called Jet Punch," Igo pulled his hand from the hole he made.


    Cain and Higa just stood there with their mouths wide open.


    ¡°Teach us, uncle!¡± Cain back to his sense, and he didn''t realize he called him uncle instead of old man.


    ¡°Then show me what you got from your practice all this time," Igo smiled.


    ¡°Me! Me!¡± Higa raised his hand and walked towards the stone that Igo hit.


    ¡°Hmm?...¡± Igo was curious, while Cain and Lexa looked at each other then looked back to Higa again.


    Higa took a stance just like Igo did. With a serious expression on his face, he threw a punch to the stone.


    Not as loud as Igo¡¯s, but a break sound was heard.


    Igo¡¯s eyes widened. Higa just did like what he did. Although only half of Higa¡¯s fist was buried to the stone, he did it just by seeing it once, just once. The ground on his feet only had a small crack. Even if it was just a basic technique, most people at least would be able to learn it in a day from a simple practice, or three to five tries for geniuses. But Higa, he did not even ask what to do.


    ¡°How¡¯d you do that!?¡± Cain jumped to Higa.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Ehh? I just did what uncle Igo do.¡±


    ¡°Guhh! I won''t lose!¡± Cain also took a chance on the stone. A punch was thrown, but only a cry of pain was heard.


    Higa and Lexa laughed, Igo just face palmed.


    ¡°Then, how about you?¡± Igo looked at Lexa.


    ¡°Me? Um¡­ I''m good at throwing things," Lexa picked two small stones from the ground, then threw the stones to the hole that Igo and Higa made, both of them hitting the mark.


    ¡°Ooh! Excellent!¡± Igo was impressed, the distance between Lexa and the stone was about 8 meters, for a 9 year old girl that was impressive.


    ¡°Then let''s test your magic aptitude," Igo pulled out several stones from his waist bag. They were elemental stones. Elemental stones only had one purpose, to determine oneself of which elemental magic he/she had within.


    Elemental magic had 7 elements; fire, water, wind, lightning, earth, holy and dark. There were many Non-elemental magic known, such as void magic, reaver magic and spirit magic. But unlike elemental magic, non-elemental magic could be learned apart from innate talent. Of course it was much harder than elemental magic to master.


    Considered rare magic, reaver magic was double edged magic that cost the caster¡¯s lifespan to use it, but had tremendous power. Also only few records shown that someone actually used reaver magic. Spirit magic was divided into 3 types, Spirit Beast, Spirit Plant, and Spirit Soul. It¡¯s also considered an extraordinary talent. For void magic, it was shrouded in mystery, extinct hundreds years ago.


    Igo lined up 7 elemental stones on the ground, each stone had a colored pattern on it, like red color with fire pattern.


    ¡°Who wants to try first?¡± said Igo.


    ¡°Me!¡± Cain moved forward.


    Igo expected this, since he could tell Cain felt lag behind from his friends.


    ¡°Open your hand, I¡¯ll put the stone on your hand one by one, concentrate your mind to the stone on your hand.¡±


    Cain was anxious on what kind of elemental magic he had. Igo put the fire stone on Cain¡¯s hand, then the stone glowed with a dim red light.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ you have a knack for fire magic but it¡¯s weak, very very weak, probably take decades to even master basic spells. You shouldn''t even try to learn this element," said Igo.


    Cain nodded.


    One could learn more than one elemental magic, depend on his/her innate talent. Heroes from ancient times could even learn all kinds of magic.


    Igo removed the fire stone from Cain''s hand, then put the water stone. The result was just like the fire stone. Unfortunately, the rest of the stones only gave a dim glow.


    Igo sighed. ¡°Sorry Cain, you don¡¯t have talent to use magic," ¡°(What an unlucky kid,)¡± he thought.


    ¡°That''s okay uncle! But you will still teach me, right?¡± said Cain.


    Igo was a bit surprised, then gave a warm smile to Cain. ¡°Yes of course. And Higa, you''re next.¡±


    ¡°Okaaay," Higa replied.


    Fire, water, wind, lightning stones all gave a dim glow on Higa¡¯s hand. Finally, a dazzling glow when it was the earth stone¡¯s turn.


    ¡°This¡­ congratulations Higa, you have talent to practice earth manipulation magic!¡±


    ¡°Ouu yeaah!!!¡± Higa clenched his fist.


    ¡°Its up to you to practice it or not, if it''s about earth magic, I may know a bit.¡±


    ¡°I will!!¡± Higa replied enthusiastically.


    Holy and dark stones gave no glow at all. With that, it was Lexa¡¯s turn next.


    ¡°So, Lexa, your turn," said Igo.


    ¡°Yes," Lexa walked towards Igo.


    Fire stone gave a dim light, but when the water stone was on her hand, it was glowing brightly, it kept glowing. Then suddenly the water stone turned into water and wetted Lexa¡¯s hand and the ground below.


    ¡±Woaah!!¡± Lexa was surprised.


    ¡°Superb! Congratulations Lexa! This is water creation magic!¡±


    ¡°Wha.. what? Lexa was confused.


    ¡°That¡¯s a common reaction from someone that was just declared blessed with creation magic. Dont worry, I also have a bit of knowledge about water creation magic," Igo smiled.


    Actually it was not a bit, Igo was a master of 3 creation magic, water, wind and earth. He was also blessed with Spirit Beast magic, 3 Great White Lions were under his command. Another reason why he was called The Mighty Iligo.


    ¡°Then, onto the next stone, shall we?¡± Igo used his water magic to clean the water from Lexa¡¯s hand, and then put the wind stone.


    The wind stone was glowing brightly, then vanished, turned into breeze. The breeze made Lexa¡¯s short hair fluttered.


    ¡°Great! Another creation magic! Wind element!¡±


    ¡°Really!?¡± Lexa¡¯s eyes sparkled.


    Igo smiled while Cain and Higa looked so surprised. Unfortunately, the rest of the stones only gave dim light.


    ¡°Ok then kids, that''s it,¡± Igo put the stones back to his bag. ¡°Let¡¯s rest a bit, after that, I¡¯ll teach you basic combat techniques and magic.¡±


    ¡°Yeaayy!!¡± The Trio seemed happy.


    ...


    The sky¡¯s dark, but even at night, the urban district of Aroum city was still lively. Lumines crystals illuminated the city. People of Valfikr stopped using fire as a source of light when they discovered the lumines crystal.


    Igo walked on his way back to the Aroum City Palace. Because of the robe and head cover, none of the people that passed him knew he was the King.


    While walking, Igo was evaluating today¡¯s event. After the aptitude test and a day of training, Igo already saw full potential of Higa and Lexa, except Cain. Even after a day of practice of Jet Punch technique, he couldn¡¯t pull it off. But he didn¡¯t give up, and said he would keep practicing. Igo let a bitter smile. He already knew the outcome. If someone couldn''t even learn the most basic combat technique after a day of practice while the strongest man himself guided him, he shouldn¡¯t pursue the combat technique. He didn¡¯t even have aptitude towards magic. But Igo didn¡¯t tell this to Cain, he would observe Cain¡¯s performance for a week first.


    Talentless described Cain perfectly while Lexa and Higa were absolutely geniuses.


    Igo arrived at the Palace. Dios was already standing at the gate. Two guards stood behind him.


    ¡°Haaaah¡­ sightseeing again?¡± Dios sighed.


    ¡°Yeah and I found something interesting, want to know?¡± Igo grinned.


    ¡°That can wait. Kingsmight returned this noon from Markoot Ruins expedition, Your Majesty," Both of them walked to the inner part of Aroum Palace.


    ¡°Oooh, good news?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, they managed to salvage some artifacts and treasure from the ancient era. I will call Kingsmight to meet you at Throne Hall.¡±


    ¡°No need, let them rest, I¡¯ll meet them tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°But they want to meet you as soon as you come back, Your Majesty.¡±


    Igo a bit hesitant, but he finally agreed to meet them now.


    ¡°Then, please change to King¡¯s attire before that.¡±


    ¡°Ooops, almost forgot!¡± Igo laughed while Dios sighed.


    Kingsmight was a private army of King Iligo. Established 5 years ago, Kingsmight was different from the soldier of Arozora, they were the best of the best. Members of Kingsmight consisted of geniuses. They only answer to the King. Sometimes, some of the Kingsmight members were sent to venture uncharted land of Valfikr to reclaim the lost knowledge or technology and artifact. This time they were sent to Markoot Ruins, northwest of Arozora territory near the border of Ozo Kingdom. Now they had returned.


    Throne Hall of Aroum City Palace was so grand, up to thousands of people fit there. The ceiling was about 9 meters tall, and 4 huge pillars supported the ceiling. It''s already filled with Kingsmight members that weren''t part of the expedition group.


    Igo sat on the throne, wearing the King¡¯s attire. Dios stood beside him.


    Kingsmight only had 100 members. And they were ranked according to their ability. 1st rank was the Captain of Kingsmight, 2nd, 3rd and 4th were Vice Captains, those four were also called Kingspillar. 5th to 100th were non-titled.


    Kingsmight was divided into four squads, each squad consisted of one leading Kingspillar and 24 members. Rank 5th to 28th were lead by the Captain, 29th to 52nd lead by the 2nd rank Vice Captain, and so on.


    Usually one or two squads were tasked with an expedition quest while the rest were guarding the Palace or Aroum City with ordinary guards.


    A squad of Kingsmight entered the Throne Hall. Led by a stern faced man with silver short hair, Bagulv Caral, the Captain of Kingsmight. They brought many big treasure chests.


    ¡°Your Majesty, we have returned," Bagulv bowed his head.


    ¡°Welcome back, Bagulv! You look fine, met your sister and wife?¡± greeted Igo.


    ¡°Me, my sister and my wife are fine, Your Majesty," Bagulv smiled.


    ¡°Good. So, what¡¯s the hurry to meet me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, about that, the presence of beasts are growing faster than we expected, some villagers claimed they saw a horde of beasts crossing Ozo border.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I see, then double the patrol on every outer post," Igo looked at Dios.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that, Your Majesty," Dios replied.


    ¡°So, any souvenir, Bagulv?¡± Igo grinned.


    ¡°Hahaha, of course Your Majesty, we managed to retrieve some artefacts, and a bunch of high grade materials," Bagulv waved his hand to a Kingsmight member, then they opened the treasure chests.


    Igo stood up and walked towards the chests.


    He was checking the chests content when his eyes, fixed on an old looking huge shoulder armor.


    ¡°This¡­ this crest, this can''t be¡­ this is the shoulder armor of Amaror!?¡± said Igo.


    Amaror was an ancient hero from hundreds years ago, he was from Koro, now Ozo. Record said he was almost 9 feet tall. The shoulder armor was so huge, not even Igo could wear it.


    ¡°It is?¡± wondered Bagulv.


    ¡°That¡¯s crazy, my body won''t fit into that, can¡¯t believe how big hero Amaror was.¡±


    Kingsmight members were talking to each other.


    ¡°Dios, contact King Logu of Ozo, we found his ancestor¡¯s belonging, and prepare to wrap this up, he¡¯s gonna be super happy about this. And also mention that horde of beast to him.¡± said Igo.


    ¡°Understood," Dios nodded.


    Igo checked the other chests, nothing catched his eyes. ¡°Good work, Kingsmight!¡± Igo shouted, filled the hall with his voice.


    ¡°You must be tired, Bagulv. Go home, rest and make some noise with your wife!¡± Said Igo.


    Throne Hall filled with laughs.


    ¡°Dios, let¡¯s put these to into the Treasure Room," said Igo


    Dios nodded.


    ¡­


    Treasure Room


    Treasure Room of Aroum City Palace was filled with national treasure goods, from high grade weapons, ancient armors, magic grimoire and even paintings. The only one that had access to the Treasure Room was Igo.


    After Kingsmight members brought the chests to Treasure Room, they left the room, then Igo and Dios were compiling the items themselves.


    ¡°So, what did you find?¡± Dios asked Igo while putting high grade materials on shelves.


    ¡°Hmm?... ooh¡­ I found diamonds in the rough.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ age?¡± Dios always knew Igo¡¯s character, that¡¯s why he knew what Igo was talking about right away.


    ¡°9 to 10. But one of them is talentless. Shame¡­ even though he is the most hardworking one.¡±


    ¡°What are you gonna do then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll nurture them myself," said Igo


    ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to take disciple.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re funny kids, you know I don''t have a child, so it''s something to me.¡±


    Igo did not have any children, his wife; the Queen, died of illness after marrying him for 6 months. Because he was a devoted husband, he never took a second wife or any mistress and concubine. Even though many neighbor Kingdoms sent him marriage proposals, he always refused them.


    ¡°This is the last one,¡± Igo took out a bottle of red bluish liquid from the treasure chest. ¡°Such pure concentrate, take this to the Alchemist Alliance. They should make use of this," Igo passed the bottle to Dios.


    ¡°Oh yeah, take this too, I want them in the morning," Igo took out a piece of paper and passed it to Dios.


    Dios read what was written. ¡°For them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and we¡¯re done here, let''s go back.¡±


    When Igo was walking towards the door, he saw a book encased with a glass box. Then he stopped.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dios looked at Igo.


    ¡°Book of Gomara," said Igo while walking towards the glass box.


    ¡°Ooh, that book, that''s the most useless item in this Treasure Room, right?¡± Said Dios.


    ¡°Yeah, this book contents is about combat techniques and magic. Yet no one ever learned from this book," Igo opened the glass box and took the book. The book was neither thick nor thin. The cover of worn out leather spoke its age. Embossed pattern with faded golden color was the only thing that made this book eye catching.


    Igo opened the book, first page only had a sentence. ¡°For the talentless and ¡­ - Gomara.¡± The ¡­ part was unreadable, perhaps due to age. Surprisingly, not a single paper had been torn. Even though most of the papers had turned yellowish brown, it¡¯s still in readable condition. Only the first page had unreadable words. This book had been here forever, no one ever knew the exact where or when this book came from.


    Because not even the most talented from many era could learn from this book, this book was the only item from the Treasure Room that could be freely borrowed by people of Arozora.


    It''s from the Treasure Room, so people thought this must be a special book. Countless people had borrowed this book to learn it, but always failed. Be it genius or talentless. They always return it after a week or a month, complaining not even one of the techniques was learnable. Probably most of the damage on it¡¯s worn out cover was because of being thrown by them.


    Gomara was a hero from the ancient time, some said he was even much older than the age of Amaror of Koro. Records only mentioned him of a mysterious person blessed with unrivaled strength and vast knowledge. But suddenly he vanished, and only this book remained.


    Igo flipped the book, only half of the book had content, the other half was empty. Igo also tried this book before, but he learnt nothing from the book.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it," said Igo.


    ¡°For the talentless one? You realize no one could learn from it, right?¡± asked Dios.


    ¡°Yeah, but the sentence ¡®For the talentless¡¯ always caught me.¡±


    ¡­


    Next morning


    Igo, with a wrapped package on his back met the kids at the forest entrance. Only Higa and Lexa were there. ¡°Yoo kids. Huh? Where''s Cain?¡± asked Igo.


    ¡°Hi uncle, Cain is already practicing from dawn," Lexa replied.


    ¡°Is that so? Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± said both Higa and Lexa.


    They met Cain in the forest. Cain was already soaked with sweat.


    ¡°I have gifts for you kids," Igo opened the wrapped package he brought.


    ¡°Waah!! Gift!¡± The Trio seemed happy. Cain immediately stopped his training.


    ¡°This is for you," Igo handed a high quality training spear made from wood to Higa. The length was perfect for Higa¡¯s height.


    ¡°From what I observed yesterday, you¡¯re most suitable to use a spear," said Igo.


    ¡°Wohoo! Thank you, uncle!¡± Higa raised his spear.


    ¡°This is for you," Igo handed Lexa a set of throwing knives, also made from wood.


    ¡°Waah! It¡¯s cool! Thank you, uncle! Lexa gave him a cute smile.


    ¡°And last, this is for you, Cain," Igo handed Cain the Book of Gomara.


    ¡°Eeehh!! Why am I the only one who gets a book and not a weapon?¡± said Cain, but he still took the book.


    ¡°Hohoho, it¡¯s not an ordinary book, kid. It¡¯s a special combat arts book! Not even I can learn from this, but maybe you can and you will become as strong as me!¡±


    ¡°Really!? Then, thank you, old man!!¡±


    ¡°Not old man but uncle!¡± Igo said that while pinching Cain¡¯s cheek.


    Higa and Lexa laughed.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I can''t train you everyday, so only 4 days a week," said Igo.


    ¡°Eeh, why is that, uncle?¡± asked Higa.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m an adult, I have some business to attend to," Igo could not say he shouldn''t leave Aroum City Palace Kingless everyday.


    ¡°While I''m gone don''t slack on your training, got it?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± they replied happily.


    Igo also told the kids, if they wanted get a job they might want to become a Kingsmight, a seasonal salary of a Kingsmight member was enough to make you live through 3 years without any job. Or Hunter, their income was quite good, and they usually took quests outside the Kingdom, they were the best option to make make money while experiencing the outside world. Or even a mercenary, though mercenary was not really popular right now because it was a peaceful time.


    To become a member of Kingsmight, they must pass the exam entry that was held every 3 years. And must be 19 years old or older.


    The Trio agreed they¡¯ll try for Kingsmight in the future.


    ¡­


    Three days later


    ¡°Morning kids," Igo yawned.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s uncle Igo," Lexa looked at Igo with 3 balls of water floating around her hand.


    ¡°Your water control is getting good.¡±


    ¡°Thank you uncle!¡± Lexa smiled.


    ¡°Hi uncle!¡± Higa was thrusting his spear repeatedly.


    ¡°Nice form Higa.¡±


    ¡°Old man! I made it! I managed to do a Jet Punch!¡± Cain appeared from behind a tree.


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    ¡°I can do Jet Punch.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Igo seemed unconvinced.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Cain nodded proudly.


    ¡°Then show me," Igo rubbed his beard, curious.


    Higa and Lexa were also curious, they stopped their practice to watch Cain.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Cain stood in front of the big stone that Igo and Higa used during demonstration.


    Cain took a stance with his left foot in the front. Same as a Jet Punch initial stance. But when he threw a right hand punch, his right foot also took a step forward.


    A breaking sound could be heard.


    Cain¡¯s fist was buried in the stone, he made a hole on the stone just like Igo did, his full fist was buried.


    ¡°(What¡­ he really did it?)¡± Igo was deep in thought, couldn''t believe that Cain actually learnt it despite he was talentless.


    ¡°See?¡± Cain grinned.


    When Cain took his hand out from the stone, suddenly cracks spread from the hole he made.


    ¡°Uwaah!?¡± Cain surprised himself as he was getting away from the breaking stone.


    The stone just broke down into pieces.


    ¡°Wha-what!? The stone is¡­.¡± Igo was amazed.


    ¡°Cain! That''s so cool!¡± Higa jumped to Cain.


    ¡°I didn''t know the stone would break," said Cain.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Cain!¡± Lexa was also amazed.


    Igo was still deep in thought. He realized its not simply a Jet Punch. Jet Punch force actually came from twisting your hip while concentrating your power on your fist and keeping your feet still to maintain the center of gravity.


    But Cain took a step, when his right hand moved, his right foot was also moving forward.


    For Igo, it¡¯s easy to break that stone, but a Jet Punch was only for piercing, not designed to break a whole big stone into pieces. The basics of how to do it was almost the same, but the output was totally different.


    ¡°How is it, oldman?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, it''s amazing, Cain," Igo went back to his senses.


    ¡°Um... it''s actually not a Jet Punch. It¡¯s a technique from the book you gave me," said Cain.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ is that so?... Wait¡­ what did you say!?¡± Igo¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°It¡¯s a technique from the book you gave me.¡±


    ¡°Are you joking right now, Cain?¡±


    ¡°Eeeeh¡­ why would I? It¡¯s in here, look," Cain took out the Book of Gomara.


    ¡°It¡¯s called Shattering Fist or something,¡± Cain opened the book. ¡°Wait¡­ it was here!¡± On the second page!¡± Cain flipped page two and three back and forth.


    ¡°It¡¯s gone!¡± Cain was confused.


    ¡°Lemme see it,¡± Igo took the book. ¡°Yeah¡­ it''s gone¡­ I remember it¡¯s full of writings and drawings up to half the book, but now, the second page is empty," Igo¡¯s face looked so serious.


    He flipped through where the page started to empty.


    ¡°This!!!¡­¡±


    There¡¯s a page that Igo remembered that was not supposed to be there. ¡°Interesting¡­ to have such mechanism¡­ but what for?¡± mumbled Igo.


    Book of Gomara was as mysterious as its author. From what Igo could understand, the moment someone was able to learn any technique from the book, the book would reveal other content from the empty space but also erase the learned page.


    ¡°Cain, since when were you able to do this Shattering Fist?¡± asked Igo.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ this morning, before Higa and Lexa arrived.¡±


    ¡°Any other techniques you learnt?¡± another question by Igo.


    ¡°No, just this one, I started to practice it exactly when you gave me this book.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± he also understood now what type Cain was.


    He took longer time to learn something, but when he mastered them, it''s explosive.


    ¡°Haha¡­ hahahahahah!¡± Igo started laughing.


    ¡°Old man are you okay?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing! I''m just happy!¡± Igo smacked Cain¡¯s back.


    ¡°Aw! Aw!¡±


    Higa and Lexa looked at each other, confused.


    ¡°Learn a lot from this book alright!¡± Igo returned the book to Cain.


    Cain nodded.


    ¡°Now go back to your training, kids!¡±


    ¡°Okay," said the Trio.


    ¡°(To actually met someone who could learn from the Book of Gomara in my era, I¡¯ll make sure to nurture him!)¡± Igo¡¯s deep thought.


    Thus, days of hard training and practice begun.

 Chapter 2 - Wake Up!

    ¡°Cain! Higa! Wake up! It¡¯s morning already!¡± Lexa called them from outside the shared room of Cain and Higa.


    ¡°Yeah, be right there! Cain! Wake up!¡± Higa was already dressed. ¡°You stayed up late again, huh?¡± asked Higa.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ yeah¡­¡± Cain was still lying on the bed.


    ¡°Come on, get up and get ready," said Higa.


    ¡°Kaay¡­¡± Cain replied while half asleep.


    Cain was 20 years old now. It¡¯s been 10 years since Igo taught them. They were living and working at an inn in the capital, Aroum City. They no longer lived in the orphanage because of age limit.


    Aunt Germi¡¯s friend, Marion, the one who¡¯s funding the orphanage who was also the owner of Emerald Horn Inn, employed the Trio to her inn, in exchange for their stay there.


    Higa as a cook, Lexa as a waitress and Cain made sure the inn was kept clean.


    Cain walked down the stairs, their rooms were on the second floor. He wore simple clothes.


    ¡°Cain, we ran out of eggs, buy them, okay?¡± Marion saw Cain and continued cleaning the tables.


    ¡°Okay," said Cain.


    ¡°And take Higa with you, I need flour too," said Marion.


    ¡°Alright," Higa popped up from kitchen.


    Because the Kingsmight Entrance Test was held this year, the inn was bustling with people from every corner of Arozora Kingdom. Hoping to get their dream job of the highest paid occupation in Arozora.


    Cain and Higa were walking in Pama Marketplace.


    Pama Marketplace was one of the biggest marketplaces in Aroum City. From cheap to sky high price goods could be found here.


    ¡°Hi auntie!¡± Cain talked to an old lady at her stall. ¡°You look younger today!¡±


    ¡°Ohoho, always with the smooth talks. So, what discounts are you asking for today?¡± The old lady smiled gently.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ we need eggs and flour.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wrap them up," said the old lady.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you auntie," Higa helped wrapping the eggs and two sacks of flour and gave her Fuls coin.


    Fuls coin was the currency for trading in the continent, but they also accept trade with other goods.


    ¡°Ah, thank you, Higa," the old lady smiled at Higa.


    ¡°Caiiin, Higaaa, won¡¯t you buy some apples today?¡± another old lady called them from across at her fruit stall.


    Cain walked towards her. ¡°Hi auntie! How are you doing?¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing good, how¡¯s Marion and the Inn?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a busy month because of the entrance test, and Marion¡¯s wrinkles are getting a lot," said Cain while smiling.


    The old lady laughed.


    ¡°Don''t let her catch you saying that. And here," she gave Cain two apples.


    ¡°Thank you, auntie! We should go back, or Marion¡¯s wrinkles would stare at us!¡± said Cain.


    The old lady laughed and waved to Cain.


    Cain went back to the ingredients stall and spoke to Higa. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Cain passed Higa an apple and took the bag of eggs.


    ¡°Later auntie!¡±


    ¡­


    On the way back to the inn


    ¡°So¡­ when are you gonna say it?¡± Cain spoke to Higa while eating the apple.


    ¡°Huh? What? Say what?¡± Higa was confused, half of his apple was eaten already.


    ¡°Come on, you like Lexa, don''t you?


    ¡°Puhh!! Cough! Cough!¡± Higa was almost choked by the apple. ¡°W-what are you saying!?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been together since kids. Heck, even Marion knows it. They way you talk and look at her," Cain teased Higa.


    ¡°Guh!? I-It''s that obvious?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I think Lexa likes you too, you know. Just go for it.¡±


    ¡°Really!?¡± said Higa.


    Cain answered with a grin on his face and nodded.


    ¡°Then, I will do it after the Kingsmight entrance!¡±


    ¡°Oooh! That''s the spirit! Cain gave a thumbs-up.


    ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± Suddenly Lexa appeared behind them.


    ¡°Woaaah!!?¡± Cain and Higa jumped. Thankfully the bags did not fall.


    ¡°Really, Lexa!? You almost made me throw this bag!¡± Cain pointed at the bag of eggs he was carrying.


    ¡°Hahaha! just what are you guys talking about that didn''t make you realize I was behind you?¡± Lexa laughed then smiled.


    ¡°It¡¯s boys talk, you shall not know about it! Right Higa?¡± Cain winked at Higa.


    ¡°Huh? Ah yeah it is. Hehehe," Higa grinned. Both of them teased Lexa.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Fine then, no dinner for you~¡± Lexa smiled wickedly.


    Although Higa was the cook, Lexa¡¯s cook was just simply tastier, but because she took a lot of time for just a simple meal, Marion let Higa did the cooking. They always ate Lexa¡¯s food for dinner.


    ¡°Wha- err we just talked about tomorrow, the Kingsmight entrance," said Cain hurriedly.


    ¡°Ooh that, we''re gonna do that tomorrow, right? I almost forgot!¡± said Lexa.


    Kingsmight entrance registration was in one week. And the test itself a day after the last day of registration. The Trio would register on the last day tomorrow because they were busy with the inn bustling with people aimed at Kingsmight.


    ¡°By the way, why are you out here, Lexa? Shouldn''t you be at the inn?¡± asked Higa, still couldn''t believe Lexa almost got them.


    ¡°I went to take a new frying pan that Marion ordered last week from the blacksmith, this," Lexa showed them the frying pan.


    ¡°Oh, I will use this then?¡± said Higa.


    ¡°Yeah," Lexa smiled.


    ¡°Come on guys, Marion''s waiting," Cain started walking again followed by Higa and Lexa.


    Next day


    The Trio went to one of the Kingsmight base. It¡¯s called Kingsmight Pillar. There are four Pillars. The one that held the registration was the Kingsmight West Pillar.


    Each Pillar was inhabited by 1 squad of Kingsmight.


    When they arrived, the place was filled with strong and fierce looking people from all around Arozora Kingdom. Men and women were ready to change their lives here.


    People from outside Arozora could also participate, but, it''s tough for them because one of the test materials was deep history knowledge of Arozora. Because he/she one day might serve Arozora directly under the King, they must at least know the culture and habit of this Kingdom.


    Arozora never worry about the chance of a spy, because Arozora¡¯s relationship with other Kingdoms were healthy. Even King Illigo said in his speech at the Kings Summit years ago, ¡°Go on, spy on us, for we have nothing to hide.¡±


    The Trio entered the Pillar, despite it¡¯s called Pillar, it''s almost shaped like a mini fortress. The hall was huge and the ceiling was tall. Some of the Kingsmight members were watching from the second floor mezzanine.


    ¡°Woah! so many people here!¡± Higa got excited.


    ¡°Let''s go over there," Cain pointed to a desk with a small queue.


    They queued the line, only 3 people before their turn.


    While they were waiting, they realized there were so many strong people here leaking with fierce aura.


    ¡°Young and old, all kinds of generation is here," said Lexa while looking around.


    ¡°Yeah just by looking, I can tell some of them are very strong," Cain also observed the people.


    ¡°Hmm!?¡± Cain¡¯s eyes fixed into one direction.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Cain? asked Higa.


    ¡°He probably found a beautiful girl to flirt with," said Lexa.


    Higa and Lexa were tracing where Cain''s eyes landed.


    ¡°!!!¡± Both Higa and Lexa were also stunned.


    On the second floor, a lady with gracious height that support her charming face caught their eyes. Even though she wore a light armor, one could tell her figure was ravishing. She stood watching from above with other Kingsmight members.


    ¡°Oh my¡­ that''s what you call goddess level beauty isn''t it¡­¡± Lexa felt a bit jealous to her.


    Cain and Higa were still stunned.


    ¡°Really? Guys?¡± Lexa shook her head.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Lexa looked at her again.


    ¡°Silver hair, goddess like appearance, and Kingsmight emblem with two blue stripes on her light armor?... Guys! It¡¯s Ivela Caral! Rank two of Kingsmight!¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± said Cain and Higa at the same time.


    One could tell the difference between the rank of a Kingsmight by looking at the blue vertical stripe on their left side of their uniform. 1 stripe was for the Captain of Kingsmight, 2 stripes were for the Vice Captains and 3 stripes were for the non-titled.


    ¡°Then I must pass this test!¡± Cain fired up.


    ¡°Really, Cain? She¡¯s out of your league, you know!¡± said Lexa, couldn''t believe to what Cain just said.


    Ivela Caral was the little sister to Bagulv Caral. Both of them were prodigies and Kingsmight¡¯s aces. They¡¯re the best graduates from Lafales Academy, the best academy for talented and genius people in Arozora Kingdom. Bagulv joined when Kingsmight was just established, while his sister joined 3 years ago from the last entrance test. Just within 3 years, she climbed to the top with her talent alone without her brother¡¯s help. Although she¡¯s only 23, she was already a Vice Captain.


    Because her family mark was silver hair and her unparalleled beauty, people called her the Silver Rose, while her brother was the Silver Ogre, because his built was tall and robust.


    ¡°Come on, it''s our turn now," said Lexa.


    No one in the hall realized about her, except the Trio.


    Cain¡¯s eyes met with her for a brief moment. Then she talked a bit with the other Kingsmight members and left.


    ¡°Come on, Cain," Higa pulled Cain.


    ¡°Welcome to Kingsmight! My name is Lindia, would you like to participate the Kingsmight entrance test?¡± A woman greeted them from behind the desk.


    A white haired old man stood behind her. He just smiled to them. They smiled to him back.


    ¡°Hello, yes, we would like to register," Lexa handled this.


    ¡°Sure! First write your name here, then place your hand on this crystal shard," she put out three shards on the desk.


    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± asked Higa.


    ¡°It''s an age verification test. We must make sure all the participant is above 19, if it glows green, then you pass," replied Lindia.


    They wrote their names and of course all of them got green.


    ¡°Take this form, fill it, and bring them tomorrow when the test begins," said Lindia.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Lexa took the forms.


    ¡°Let''s go back, Marion¡¯s hands must be full by now," said Higa.


    The Trio decided to go back to the inn.


    On the way to inn


    ¡°You know, I miss Igo¡­¡± Lexa looked at the blue sky while walking.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ what''s he up to now I wonder," said Cain.


    Igo left them 3 years ago, after Higa¡¯s 17th birthday. Said there were things that had to be taken care of, but he never showed up since.


    ¡°You guys remember when Igo left us at the deeper part of Barm Forest?¡± asked Lexa.


    ¡°Yeaaa, that''s when you piss in your pants, wasn''t it?¡± Higa looked at Cain while grinning.


    ¡°Oh right! Hahahaha!¡± Lexa laughed.


    ¡°Eeeh! You always remember my embarrassing part, don¡¯t you?¡± Cain shook his head.


    After 3 months under Igo¡¯s training, Higa and Lexa refused Igo¡¯s offer to go to Lafales Academy because they would live in a dormitory, that would make Cain be left behind in the orphanage. Igo didn''t invite Cain because the academy only accepted people with extraordinary talent and growth like Higa and Lexa.


    Igo then told Cain he had good friends, and Cain replied that they were his family, he would give his life for them, hearing that made Igo prank them by leaving them behind at the deep forest and ordered one of his Great White Lions Spirit Beast, Blazing White Lion, to scare them, when the Blazing White Lion showed up in front of them, Cain proved his words by telling frightened Higa and Lexa to escape, Cain bravely stood in front of the beast as he peed his pants while clenching a branch stick in his hand, but Lexa quickly realized that the Blazing White Lion didn''t move an inch, and just stood there roaring, when she told them that, Igo came out from the bushes, laughing his ass off because he saw Cain peed himself but also gave him a thumbs up.


    Lexa and Higa were laughing as they arrived at the inn.


    ¡°Achooo!!!¡±


    ¡°You need to take care of your health, Your Majesty," Dios stood in front of Igo.


    ¡°I''m okay. So how¡¯s Kingsmight?¡± Igo looked at a paper in his hands. He sat behind a wide desk with a glass ornament on it. Some of his hair had turned grey.


    ¡°Participants this time are up to five thousand, more or less,¡± Dios also had papers in his hand. ¡°And as you expected, they registered.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ How are they?¡±


    ¡°They looked very promising, give ¡®em two or three years they might be become Kingsmight top ten,¡± said Dios.


    ¡°Hahahahah! They¡¯re my disciples, what do you expect?¡± Igo laughed so hard.


    ¡°Except one, I couldn''t measure him, but he looked so ordinary.¡±


    ¡°That must be Cain, the talentless one I told you about.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the one that was able to learn from the Book of Gomara?¡±


    ¡°Yes, by the way, Dios, do it," Igo¡¯s face looked serious.


    ¡°About what we talked about before? Alright then," Dios nodded.

 Chapter 3 - The Test

    ¡°Alright! We¡¯re off, Marion!¡±


    The Trio was about to go to the test.


    ¡°Okay, kids! Don''t embarrass Emerald Horn Inn, huh!¡± Marion saw them off, her hands on her waist.


    ¡°We will not! Besides, we¡¯re not kids anymore!¡± Cain grinned.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! You¡¯re all kids!¡± Marion smiled.


    Kingsmight entrance test was held at Great Onka Plains, southeast of Aroum City. The Trio went there using a free carriage service issued by the Kingdom especially for this event.


    When the Trio arrived, the plains was already crowded by the participants and non participants, it became a show for the public.


    There were 4 wooden towers that stood on the plains. A mage with blue robe and some guards could be seen on each tower.


    ¡°Hey, over there, we need to return the form to verify our registration," Lexa pointed at the stand.


    At the stand, the Trio verified their registration. When they left the stand, an old man with a hood approached the stand from behind and quickly exchanged Cain¡¯s paper with his own paper and left. No one noticed what he did.


    ¡°All participants, we will begin the test shortly," a magic enhanced voice echoed around the plains.


    Then, the mage from every tower cast a spell. Glowing yellowish light from every tower shot out to each other tower. A rectangle shape barrier erected, each tower as it¡¯s corner.


    ¡°Alright, I am Bagulv Caral, Captain of Kingsmight," Bagulv spoke from one of the towers with sound enhanced magic. Dios stood behind him.


    ¡°Marry me!!!¡±


    ¡°Oh my goddess!!! He¡¯s so cool!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my reason for this test! Hey!! I¡¯m your number one fan!!!¡±


    The crowd had gotten wild from Bagulv¡¯s appearance. He¡¯s clearly very popular in Arozora, especially girls, even though they knew he was a married man. Being a Captain of Kingsmight from a young age, he¡¯s King Iligo¡¯s Right Hand.


    ¡°Wooaah, look at the crowd, they¡¯re going crazy!¡± Cain was amazed.


    ¡°Yep, and he¡¯s the older brother of Ivela Caral, the woman we saw at the Pillar yesterday," said Lexa.


    ¡°Wha-!?¡± Cain¡¯s mouth was wide open


    ¡°Told you, she¡¯s out of your league," Lexa shook her head.


    ¡°Welcome to Kingsmight Entrance Test ladies and gentleman! Kingsmight now only has 88 members. That means we only have 12 hot seats right now to fill. So, from five thousand of you, we are gonna cut you down to 200, at least for the first round. On the second round we are gonna cut it again to 50! Then those 50 will be given special training until there are 12 left!¡± said Bagulv to the crowd.


    ¡°Why do they need to refill the seats? Where are the other 12?¡± Cain asked Lexa and Higa.


    ¡°They died, mainly from expedition, even if they¡¯re powerful, there¡¯s always a beast or someone that could beat them. That''s why their salary is high, because the mortality rate is high and their responsibility is big as they directly and indirectly protect the King," said Lexa.


    The mage from each tower cast a spell again. A little tremor made the ground outside the barrier elevated into 3 steps like stairs.


    ¡°Now, before we begin, for all non participants, please step outside of the barrier," said Bagulv.


    When people started leaving the barrier, the yellowish barrier turned into a translucent green light. Meaning all the people inside the barrier were above 19, It was simply a double precaution.


    ¡°Even though we watched this 3 years ago, it¡¯s still amazing because we¡¯re inside the barrier now!¡± Cain couldn¡¯t hide his excitement.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re ready right now,¡± Bagulv spoke again. ¡°The rule is, just like the last entrance test, you''re gonna have to fight each other. You won''t die inside the barrier, but you will still get injured, but it won''t be a fatal one. If you get out of the barrier, you will be considered to fail, if you are unconscious, you¡¯ll be teleported outside by our mages. You can use anything, magic, combat technique and weapons. You can go all out, in fact you must! Because we only give 30 minutes to reach 200 participants. If after 30 minutes more than 200 participants are still standing, all of you will also fail!¡±


    ¡°This is gonna be awesome!¡±


    ¡°Five thousand to two hundred under 30 minutes!? Also twice the amount of the participants from the last test! Gonna be awesome indeed!¡±


    The crowd¡¯s getting wild.


    ¡°Ready? First round! Now! Begins!¡±


    4 digit number made by magic and a projection of hourglass appeared above the barrier, indicating the number of participants and the timer.


    Magic flew everywhere, it''s chaos inside the barrier. Everyone tried their best, including the Trio.


    ¡°Alright!!! Let¡¯s join them!¡± Higa was fired up.


    ¡°No need, they will come for us¡­ see? Incoming!¡± Lexa calmly observed the battlefield when five human sized fireballs came straight to them.


    Higa quickly reacted by erecting a stone wall from the ground, covering the Trio while men behind them ate the fireballs directly. When the smoke lifted, they lay unconscious on the ground and they were teleported.


    Then, from above, a man with glowing fist targeted the Trio.


    ¡°Sorry, kids! But y''all look like easy targets!¡±


    The man came at them from above with incredible speed, he hit the ground, the Trio easily evaded the impact. Dust filled the air, then a knee came and crushed the man''s face. He got knocked out with 1 hit.


    ¡°We ain''t easy yo! Aren''t kids either!¡± said Cain after he landed the knee kick.


    ¡°Say Cain, why don''t we make a bet. Whoever gets more, wins, and the loser must pay for food party after this," said Higa.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Sure! Wait... since when we will have food party after this!?¡±


    ¡°Who cares!? I¡¯m in too!!!¡± said Lexa, then, she cast a water elemental magic.


    A giant torrent of water ravaged the battlefield.


    ¡°Holy crap!!!¡± That was elemental creation magic! And a high level one!¡± The crowd¡¯s excited.


    Dozens of participants got caught by the torrent, either they got unconscious or got pushed out from the barrier.


    ¡°Dang! Shouldn''t have made that bet! And we forgot to bring weapons!¡± Cain looked for weapons lying on the ground that was used by the participants.


    ¡°Hahah! But isn¡¯t it fun?¡± Higa already fought numbers of participants with the stone spear he made from magic on his hand, he swiftly 1 hit some of them.


    In just 5 minutes, the participants count were already at 4 thousand.


    A big Icefrog appeared on the battlefield. Its body was covered with Ice shards. And on its head stood a short man. Chilling mist covered the area near them.


    ¡°Hey! Isn''t that a Spirit Beast!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is!¡±


    The crowd¡¯s getting wilder.


    ¡°Let''s do it, Froggy!¡± The short man ordered his Spirit Beast.


    Countless ice shards shot out from its body into every direction.


    Only few participants in that area survived the attack.


    ¡°Looks like there are many strong participants in this test," King Iligo appeared on the tower where Bagulv was.


    ¡°Your Majesty! You came!¡± Bagulv bowed his head.


    ¡°Yeah, I overslept," Igo yawned. Behind him, Ivela Caral smiled, Bagulv nodded with a smile. She was on her duty to guard their King.


    King Iligo looked at Dios, then, Dios nodded. The King let out a bitter smile, then observed the battlefield.


    It had been 25 minutes, and it was down to 400 participants left.


    Cain didn''t look exhausted for one bit. He calmly fought numbers of people, those who were not average, they were the strongest people out of the five thousand.


    Lexa and Higa also fought calmly, they didn''t look tired at all.


    A muscular man with brown skin appeared in front of Cain. He knew, this man¡¯s strength was different from the rest. His height was about 2 meters.


    ¡°You are strong, you and your friends are different from the others," the man spoke to Cain.


    ¡°Ho? Thank you, big man! But talking won''t get us anywhere!¡±


    ¡°Haha, you! I like! I am Pargo!¡±


    Suddenly he moved so fast to Cain¡¯s back. Cain reacted with a kick. He guarded Cain¡¯s kick, and countered with rapid punches.


    Cain calmly evaded each hit. And countered with the same move, rapid punches. Pargo was also able to evade them.


    Both of them took a step back and unleashed each other''s techniques.


    Pargo¡¯s right upper half body turned black, he unleashed Obsidian Ram, a body tackle technique.


    Cain unleashed Dual Shattering Fists. Upgraded version of Shattering Fist, but using 2 fists, targeting upper and lower parts of the body


    When the techniques collided, the ground shook and a loud sound echoed inside the barrier.


    The loud sound attracted King Iligo and the others on the tower.


    ¡°Isn''t that Hodu Tribe?¡± said Ivela, she meant the brown skinned man.


    ¡°Yes, Hodu Tribe is a tribe that lives in the southwest of the Kingdom, their raw power is their pride, legend says their ancestor moved the mountain by flicking their finger," said Bagulv.


    ¡°And yet, that man was able to stop such force," said Ivela.


    ¡°Yeah, I would never eat his technique head on. And I have never seen that young man¡¯s technique.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder what kind of technique is that," Ivela wondered while watching the battlefield.


    Igo and Dios didn''t give any comment, because they already knew.


    Both didn''t move a bit. Both of Cain¡¯s fists landed on Pargo¡¯s right upper arm. He managed to stop a powerful brute force and Pargo was able to withstand the Dual Shattering Fist.


    ¡°Never seen someone outside my tribe would actually face my technique head on!¡± Pargo grinned.


    ¡°And I never thought someone would eat my technique and didn''t have a scratch on him," Cain¡¯s face filled with excitement.


    ¡°You¡¯re those people who actually enjoy a good fight, aren''t you?¡± Pargo retracted his posture.


    ¡°So are you," Cain also stood back.


    A flare lit up the sky. The countdown was over. 30 minutes had passed and 182 participants were left on the field.


    ¡°That''s it! The first round is finished!¡± Bagulv¡¯s voice could be heard while the flare was diminishing. The barrier was also fading.


    ¡°Now, you can rest for 15 minutes before the second round begins. Congratulation for all of you who has passed the first round, cheers!¡± said Bagulv.


    ¡°Looks like our show has to wait," said Pargo.


    ¡°Yeah, and my name is Cain by the way," Cain offered his hand for a handshake.


    ¡°Just Cain? I am Pargo Vas Odga of Hodu,"


    Pargo took Cain''s hand firmly.


    ¡°Yeah, just Cain.¡±


    ¡°Watch yourself on the second round, Cain, I¡¯m sure we''ll meet again," Pargo smiled, and turned his back then left.


    ¡°Cain!¡± Lexa and Higa walked towards him.


    ¡°Are you alright!?¡± Lexa was checking on him.


    ¡°Eh? Why wouldn¡¯t I be alright?¡±


    ¡°That man had been targeting us, but we always stayed away from him. I can sense it, he holds tremendous power. Then we saw you fighting with him," Higa answered.


    ¡°Why would you evade him? Yeah he¡¯s strong but he won''t eat you. Besides, from our fight earlier he seems nice," said Cain.


    When the Trio was busy chatting, three figures walked towards them.


    ¡°Hey! Hey! Isn''t that!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s!? The Silver Rose! That''s Ivela Caral! Oh my Goddess! She¡¯s so beautiful!¡±


    The surviving participants were surprised by her appearance on the battlefield.


    Ivela Caral walked towards the Trio, behind her, a young woman and a man accompanied her, also Kingsmight members.


    ¡°Hello, I am Ivela Caral, one of the Kingspillar. Are you the one who fought the Hodu tribesman?¡±


    ¡°Whoa! He-hello!¡± Lexa and Higa were startled, and Cain, he was frozen stiff.


    ¡°I am Lexa, and this is Higa, and that is Cain, the one who you are looking for.¡±


    Cain was still frozen.


    Higa repeatedly hit Cain with his elbow.


    ¡°Uh!? Eh? H-hi! I¡¯m Cain!¡± Cain went back to his senses.


    Cain was never approached by a girl before, and he was always the one who did it. Let alone this one was not an ordinary woman. Thus, he was a bit startled.


    Cain and Ivela shook hands. People around them filled with jealousy.


    ¡°(What a soft hand.)¡± Thought Cain. But this was the hand of the second strongest of Kingsmight.


    ¡°So, Cain, what was the technique you used during your clash with that Hodu tribesman? Even my brother said he wouldn''t even dare to face their technique head on, and yet you face it and were left unharmed," said Ivela.


    Ivela was also known for her curiosity of any techniques and magic. She had bookshelves full of them from everywhere. Seeing a technique she never saw or read before, it tickled her curiosity.


    ¡°Oh? That? Ehm¡­ I can tell you that¡­ over dinner maybe?¡± said Cain nervously.


    Two Kingsmight members behind Ivela had their mouth open. And people around them were also speechless after what they just heard.


    Higa and Lexa¡¯s eyes were wide open looking at Cain.


    ¡°Pfff! Hahaha! Oh, it''s been a while actually, someone asking me for dinner. It¡¯s kinda refreshing,¡± Ivela laughed lightly. ¡°I already know you won''t just tell me, but asking a lady for dinner just for an answer? Not bad!¡± Ivela smiled.


    Her smile and laugh was like a gentle breeze over the plains. Everyone around them felt so relaxed.


    ¡°I can die peacefully right now, I¡¯ve seen a goddess¡¯s smile more than I can take," a participant lost in the atmosphere.


    Higa and Lexa were still speechless from all of this.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see your performance in the second round, if you manage to impress me, then I¡¯ll think about the dinner," Ivela smiled gently.


    She then left the battlefield.


    ¡°See, Lexa? She¡¯s not out of my league~¡± Cain tapped Lexa¡¯s shoulder while grinning. While Higa put out a thumbs up with a straight face and said nothing.


    They took a break while waiting for the second round.

 Chapter 4 - The Result

    ¡°Alright! The second round now will begin!¡± Bagulv announced the start of the second round.


    Barrier was erected again, but smaller.


    ¡°For all survived participants, please step out from the barrier. On this second round, we will do 1 on 1 match! If your name is called, step inside the barrier," said Bagulv.


    The second round went on without any problem, Lexa and Higa got easy win with astounding performance. Pargo and the man with his Froggy also came out victorious.


    Finally Cain¡¯s name was called, and his opponent was quite an attractive woman. She had a slender body but cold expression. Her name was Satris. She wore a simple armor with two small axes, each on her hands.


    Cain took a stance, without any weapon in his hands.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Bagulv¡¯s voice was loud and clear in the barrier.


    Both of them nodded.


    ¡°Begin!¡±


    Satris dashed towards Cain and threw one of her axes. The axe spun with an arc trajectory to Cain¡¯s side.


    Cain spun his body carefully, with the right momentum, he caught the axe and with centrifugal force, he threw back the axe to Satris.


    Satris stopped her dash and deflected the axe with her axe in her hand. What she did not expect was the force within the axe rethrown by Cain. He managed to deflect it but her hand was a bit numb.


    ¡°(His counter is crazy! And how in the heck he caught my axe!? I have to be careful!)¡± thought Satris.


    What Cain just did also amazed people there, including the ones on the wooden tower.


    Near the barrier, Higa and Lexa were watching Cain¡¯s match.


    ¡°Now, he did that better than before, huh?¡± said Higa.


    ¡°Indeed, he devised a counter when I often hit him by throwing a small stick in the head," said Lexa. They were proud of Cain.


    Satris now on defensive stance because her preemptive strike failed. Cain also took a stance. He was very composed.


    ¡°Wait, sir¡­¡±


    Suddenly, a woman behind Bagulv spoke to him. It¡¯s Lindia, the one who responsible for Kingsmight entrance registration.


    ¡°This is Cain¡¯s registration form, it''s not fit his description," Lindia handed him a paper.


    ¡°Hmm? Age 32, 2 meters tall, 150 kg, and a face tattoo?¡± Bagulv read Cain¡¯s form.


    Cain¡¯s actually 1.73 meters tall, with ideal weight of 75 kilograms or 165 lbs. And he did not have any tattoos.


    ¡°Is there anyone else named Cain from the participants?¡± asked Bagulv.


    ¡°None, sir," said Lindia.


    Bagulv looked at King Iligo.


    King Iligo shrugged. ¡°Do as you wish, Bagulv," he said.


    Bagulv nodded.


    ¡°Participant Cain,¡± Bagulv¡¯s voice suddenly stopped the match. ¡°We have your form that did not match your description. Therefore we can''t let you continue this test as we always strict about rules. We hereby participant Cain is disqualified from Kingsmight entrance test and banned from future test as well. Satris won this match by default!¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Cain couldn''t believed what he heard.


    ¡°Easy win, huh?¡± Satris walked away.


    ¡°That can''t be right? Right?¡± Higa looked at Cain from outside the barrier.


    ¡°Should we investigate this person, Your Majesty?¡± Bagulv asked the King.


    ¡°No need, just continue this test," said Igo.


    Bagulv nodded.


    ¡°So much for dinner," Ivela looked at Cain from above, her face still looked curious.


    Cain stepped out from the barrier.


    ¡°Cain! Are you sure you wrote your form correctly?¡± Lexa asked him right away.


    ¡°He must be, I saw it last night, we filled in our form together," Higa answered first.


    ¡°Yeah, someone must¡¯ve tampered the paper,¡± said Cain. ¡°¡­ There goes my dinner with Lady Ivela," Cain sighed and looked sluggish.


    ¡°Really, Cain!? You¡¯re still thinking about dinner at a time like this?¡± Lexa shook her head.


    ¡°Well, what can I do? Besides, I also have been banned from future test as well. Listen, you guys must continue the test, okay?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°No chance! We stick together!¡± said Lexa.


    ¡°What do you mean? Become Kingsmight is the best chance to make your life better, that''s also your dream, isn''t it?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Our¡¯ dream!¡± Lexa pulled Cain¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Besides, there''s plenty of ways to make our lives better and get rich," said Higa.


    ¡°Wait¡­ don''t tell me you guys gonna drop the test!?¡± gasped Cain.


    ¡°Of course we will, no way we go to separate ways," Higa smiled.


    ¡°Come on, let''s go back home!¡± Lexa¡¯s Hands were clinging onto Cain and Higa¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Haah¡­ really guys¡­¡± Cain sighed.


    ¡°Hey, we should buy a cake!¡± said Lexa.


    ¡°Huh? For what? To celebrate our failure?¡± Cain frowned.


    ¡°That, and we can''t go back to Marion empty handed!¡± Lexa laughed.


    ¡°Then, Cain will buy it, because he failed!¡± Higa laughed.


    ¡°Fine! I will buy the orange flavoured one so you can''t eat it, Higa!¡±


    ¡°What!? Please don¡¯t.¡±


    The Trio laughed as they leaving the Great Onka Plains.


    ¡­


    Night at Emerald Horn InnThis content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Cain bought a medium size cake, not orange flavoured one. Served to all of the inn¡¯s guests. More than half of it was already eaten.


    The bar was already closed. On one table, Marion and the Trio sat there.


    ¡°So, what are you going to do now?¡± Marion asked the Trio.


    ¡°Well, our second option is to become a Hunter," said Lexa.


    Hunter¡¯s income came from the quest at the Hunter Guild, people could make requests there and the Kingdom or the quest giver would pay the Hunter to do it, such as collecting materials from a beast or plants outside the city. Their mortality rate was quite high because they usually took harder quest that paid more, like slaying dangerous beasts or destroy its nest.


    Hunter Guild was founded hundreds of years ago. The origin of Hunter Guild was of beast and monster hunter, but due to their many accomplishments, people started to request things other than beast or monster cases.


    ¡°Hunter, eh? It¡¯s a shame though, you just failed at Kingsmight like that. And I bet you didn''t even try to whitelist your name from future test," said Marion to Cain.


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s too much hassle," said Cain. He was eating the cake lazily as he was still annoyed by today''s event.


    ¡°Maybe we should register tomorrow?¡± said Higa while munching the cake.


    ¡°Yep, let''s go tomorrow," Lexa gulped her cup of tea.


    ¡°Then, get rest, let me clean the rest," Marion smiled.


    ¡°Waiiit!¡± Cain shouted. ¡°Don''t you have something to say to Lexa, Higa?¡± Cain grinned.


    ¡°Puhh!! Cough! Cough!¡± Higa almost got choked by the cake.


    ¡°Huh? What? You have something to say to me, Higa?¡± asked Lexa.


    ¡°(Damn you, Cain! Can''t you wait until we both alone!?)¡± what Higa had in his mind right now.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Higa inhaled and exhaled.


    ¡°Lexa Legria!¡± said Higa.


    ¡°Y-yes??¡±


    ¡°Will you go out with me?¡± Higa¡¯s face reddened


    ¡°Wha-what!?¡± Lexa was a bit surprised, Higa caught her off guard.


    ¡°You¡¯re not joking, right?¡± Lexa went back to her composed state.


    Cain was holding back his laughter while Marion was watching with a smile.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± claimed Higa.


    ¡°Then, no," a super fast response from Lexa.


    ¡°Huh!?¡±


    ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t want a meaningless relationship. If you are really serious about me, then marry me," Lexa was a bit blushing.


    Cain¡¯s jaw just dropped.


    ¡°Puahahaha! That''s my girl, Lexa! you gotta tell him straight!¡± Marion laughed so hard she smacked the table.


    ¡°Marry!? R-right now??¡± Higa was puzzled by Lexa¡¯s counter.


    ¡°Of course not, you stupid! Maybe next year?¡± said Lexa.


    ¡°Next year is a good idea, you can start saving right now," Marion was still laughing.


    ¡°Wait! Wait! Wait! You guys are gonna get married!? What is this lightning speed development!?¡± Cain still couldn¡¯t believe what happened.


    ¡°Then, Lexa Legria, will you marry me? Sorry, I don''t have anything to give or offer. But I promise you a wonderful life," Higa held Lexa hand gently, they completely ignored Cain.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Lexa smiled happily.


    ¡°Congratulation! Both of you," Marion congratulated them then smiled.


    ¡°Gahh!! My eyes!!! It''s too bright!¡± Cain was still ignored.


    ¡­


    Next day


    ¡°We¡¯re off, Marion!¡±


    ¡°Take care! Don''t forget what I asked!¡± said Marion.


    The Trio went to the Hunter Guild establishment near Pama Market.


    ¡°Really? You guys are already holding hands in public?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Why? We even did something last night, wanna know?¡± teased Lexa.


    ¡°Gahh!! I didn''t hear anything! Cain covered his ears.


    ¡°Hahaha, just joking!¡± Lexa and Higa laughed.


    At the Hunter Guild, the place was filled with Hunters, chatting and drinking. The Trio entered and walked straight to the reception desk.


    ¡°Welcome to the Hunter Guild! I am Fay, Hunter Guild administrator. How may I help you?¡± a girl with an eyeglasses greeted the Trio.


    ¡°We would like to become Hunters. Is there any requirement?¡± Lexa replied.


    ¡°If you¡¯re below 18, you must have a recommendation from a Hunter," said Fay


    ¡°We are above 18. Do we need a test for our skill or something?¡± asked Lexa.


    ¡°Urgh¡­ test," grumbled Cain.


    ¡°No need. Even if you die on a quest because you lack skills, many will replace your place. We never run out of recruits after all. Besides, most people who failed at Kingsmight entrance test yesterday will come here eventually.¡±


    ¡°Dang, savage," said Higa.


    ¡°I apologize if it sounds like we don''t care about the new recruits. But young new recruits tend to be spoiled brat. That¡¯s why only high ranked Hunters get a warm treatment,¡± said Fay while smiling.


    ¡°I see," Lexa nodded.


    ¡°Alright! Fill this form please, and don''t forget to sign it,¡± Fay handed the papers. ¡°While doing so, I will explain to you about our rules.¡±


    ¡°The Hunter Guild has rank for their members. The official order of the rank is as follows; Aquamarine, Garnet, Zircon, Spinel, Topaz, Alexandrite, Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. Though some of the Hunters started to make their own rank to make it easier to identify, you will learn it in due time. And you will start from the lowest rank, Aquamarine.¡±


    ¡°To increase your rank, just simply keep completing the quests from the Guild. Quest also has rank, with the same name as Hunter rank. A Hunter can take quest up to 2 ranks above his or her rank. Such as, Hunter with Garnet rank can take up to Spinel rank quest. Also don¡¯t steal taken other Hunter quest, if you complete the other¡¯s quest by yourself, only the quest taker would get the rewards. Except there¡¯s special treatment from the quest poster.¡±


    ¡°So, higher quest rank means higher rewards, right?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Indeed, also the danger and difficulty," said Fay.


    The Trio filled the form. Fay stamped them. She then took out a crystal as big as her head. The crystal was radiating heat. Their papers were placed above the crystal, in a flash, the papers were burned. When the fire went out, the papers had turned into small crystals as big as acorn with translucent light blue color, just like how aquamarine gem was.


    ¡°Done! Take these crystals. Now you are all officially Hunter Guild members," Fay smiled.


    ¡°Whoa, that simple? And what is this crystal for?¡± Higa took one of the crystals.


    ¡°Yes, your data has been recorded, you will be recognized by any Hunter Guild from any Kingdom we established with. And those crystals are your proof of your Hunter Guild membership. Try putting it on your palm, then close your hand and open again," said Fay.


    Higa did what Fay instructed. When he opened his hand the crystal had vanished from his hand.


    ¡°Whoa!? It¡¯s gone!? How!?¡± Higa panicked.


    Fay smiled, it¡¯s the reaction she saw everyday when there was a new member. ¡°Just try think the crystal," said Fay.


    When Higa focused his mind on the crystal, the crystal materialized above his palm and floated.


    ¡°It¡¯s great!¡± said Higa with astonished face. Cain and Lexa nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Indeed, that magical crystal was discovered three hundred years ago. Because it also works on non-magic user Hunter, it shifted dog tag function for the Guild," said Fay.


    ¡°Cool! Then we can take any quest right away?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Sure, look at that board,¡± Fay pointed to a board across the desk. ¡°On the right side is green board, that means it''s low danger quest, such as gathering materials, escort or labour. On the left side is red board, it''s more dangerous with higher difficulty.¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s take a look, and thank you," Lexa smiled to Fay, she replied with a nod.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ gather, gather, help build well, gather¡­¡±


    When the Trio were looking at the board, a skinny man came to them.


    ¡°Are you perhaps new Hunters? Looking for your first quest?¡± said the skinny man.


    ¡°Uh, yes," Cain replied.


    ¡°My name is Hande. How about you do my request? It''s an escort quest, I''m a merchant, my bodyguards just got 3 days off, but I forgot there is an urgent delivery tomorrow. So, I¡¯m in need of a group of Hunter to escort me to Dorun Village. I¡¯ll pay 3 times higher than the rest of escort quest in that board. The road to Dorun Village is quite safe, so it''s perfect for new comer like you, isn''t it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ sorry if I¡¯m rude, but if it''s safe, why don''t you go by yourself?¡± asked Cain after the Trio introduced themselves.


    ¡°Well, there''s a rumour a group of bandits that targeting traveler and merchant near Dorun Village, they only targeting those who doesn''t have guards with them. They capture and sold them to neighboring Kingdom as slaves," said Hande.


    Few Kingdoms in Valfikr Continent had slave system in their Kingdom, Most Kingdoms had already made their Kingdom free from slavery, including Arozora.


    ¡°Looks like it''s easy enough for our first quest, I¡¯d say we take it?¡± said Cain


    ¡°Yep, agree," Lexa and Higa agreed.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you. Then, you should prepare, it takes half a day to reach Dorun Village with carriage. We will meet tomorrow morning at south gate. Good?¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Great! Now, let me register my request to the Guild and say you take it. You can go ahead and prepare," said Hande. Then he went to the reception desk.


    ¡°Let''s go to Pama Market, Marion asked to buy some ingredients," said Cain.


    The Trio headed for Pama Market.


    ¡°Cain, you go on ahead, we want to go there a bit," Lexa pointed at an accessory shop.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, sure, you lovebirds! Shoo! Shoo!¡± said Cain while waving his hand to shoo them away.


    Higa and Lexa then went to the accessory shop.


    Cain just sighed but smiled at his friends backs. ¡°Oh well, I should start shopping! Hi auntie!¡±

 Chapter 5 - First Quest

    Next day


    ¡°Ah, there you are!¡± Hande saw the Trio walked towards him at Aroum City South Gate.


    They wore simple gear, almost casual. Cain with his dark blue jacket, Higa with his leather vest, and Lexa with her green thigh-length robe.The Trio also had bags on their shoulders. Higa brought a spear, about 2.3 meters with a white eagle ornaments on it. It¡¯s called Eagle¡¯s Talon. Given by Cain and Lexa as his birthday present two years ago.


    ¡°Are we late?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± said Hande. ¡°These are my carriages. And those two are my men. Sadly, they can¡¯t do things except manual labour. And since my bodyguards are on days off, well, you know the rest.¡±


    Hande had 2 carriages. There were 4 barrels on each carriage, those barrels were goods Hande wanted to deliver. The Trio and Hande rode the first carriage, the second carriage was handled by Hande¡¯s men


    The carriages were pulled by two horses each.


    ¡°Ready? Let¡¯s go," Hande coached the horse''s reins.


    The Trio often went outside Aroum City with Igo, sightseeing and training. So they did not feel strange about going outside the city.


    ¡°Huh? What''s that on your wrist?¡± Cain asked about the bracelet on Lexa¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°Oh? This is what we bought yesterday at accessory shop," Lexa replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pair bracelet," Higa showed his.


    ¡°Woo! Nice one! So, where¡¯s mine?¡± said Cain while sticking out his hand.


    ¡°Huh? These are bracelets for couple! only two! said Lexa.


    ¡°Aah.. they already forget me¡­ love is not as beautiful as I thought¡­¡± Cain sat in the corner, mumbling.


    The carriages slowed down and stopped.


    ¡°Hunters! I¡¯m sorry! I forgot to tell you, there are actually two deliveries, one to Dorun Village and another to Makkir Village,¡± said Hande. ¡°Could one of you accompany the second carriage to Makkir Village?¡± he scratched his head.


    ¡°Why don''t we go to Makkir Village first, then Dorun?¡± asked Lexa.


    ¡°Well, my both clients are expecting the goods to be delivered this noon. If we go to Makkir first then we would arrive in Dorun when the night falls," said Hande.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go," Cain raised his hand, volunteered.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Cain! I¡¯ll make sure to add a bonus for you," said Hande while apologetically smiling.


    ¡°You sure, Cain?¡± asked Higa.


    ¡°Yeah, no problem. Besides, I will get a bonus for this and I don''t wanna disturb you couple!¡± Cain smirked.


    Lexa and Higa sighed.


    Cain took his bag and moved to the second carriage.


    ¡°It¡¯ll only take an hour to Makkir Village from here, my men will take you to Dorun village after the goods are delivered," said Hande.


    ¡°Alright," said Cain as he sat in the carriage.


    ¡°Be careful, Cain!¡± Lexa waved her hand.


    ¡°See you at Dorun, Cain! said Higa.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    The first carriage continued to straight road, while Cain''s carriage turned right.


    There were 3 people in the carriage, including Cain


    ¡°What is this goods that Hande sells?¡± asked Cain to one of Hande¡¯s men.


    ¡°It¡¯s Mannio Herb, sir.¡±


    Mannio Herb was used for traditional medicine, good for elderly. It''s not common but also wasn''t rare plant. It needed a special treatment to grow them.


    ¡°Hoo¡­ I see. But why put them in a barrel? Not just put them in a sack?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not really sure, probably the client¡¯s request," said the man.


    Moments later, Cain arrived at Makkir Village.


    ¡°Alright, Hunter. We will unload the barrels and deliver them to the client, after that, we will take you to Dorun.¡±


    ¡°Want me to help?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°No need, you can relax at that bar. After we¡¯re done, we will come to you," Hande¡¯s men pointed a bar across the road.


    ¡°Okay, good.¡±


    Cain entered the bar, it''s called Sword and Fork bar.


    The bar was half full. Cain sat and ordered a glass of cold red tea.


    ¡°Hey, have you heard? there''s a bandit group that smuggling kidnapped children near Dorun Village?¡±


    A group of people at the table behind Cain was talking about recent rumour.


    ¡°Yeah, I heard, they sold children to slavery for neighbor Kingdoms.


    ¡°And I heard they disguised themselves as merchants or something. said they sell some kind of herb as their front.¡±


    Hearing that, a cold sweat dropped from Cain''s forehead.


    ¡°My friend from the capital said the King sent a squad of Kingsmight to settle this.¡±


    ¡°As expected of King Iligo, always looking out for his people even it''s far from Aroum!¡±


    ¡°Speaking of Kingsmight, did you guys come to their test¡­¡±


    Cain finished his drink in one gulp. Paid it, then quickly went out of the bar.


    He saw no carriage he rode earlier in the vicinity.


    ¡°Shit! Where is the carriage!? It''s bad news! Lexa and Higa could be seen as smugglers by Kingsmight!¡± Cain tried his best to stay calm while assessing the situation. He also inspected the road, but there were too many carriage tracks so he couldn''t identify the right one.


    ¡°I should go to Dorun before this turns ugly! Damn! I didn''t bring much Fuls! No way I can rent a horse! I have to run to Dorun Village! If I run straight through the forest then I can get there faster!¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile in the forest not far from Dorun Village.


    A squad of Kingsmight under Ivela Caral was preparing to deal with the smuggler.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°We got intel that these smugglers have a base operation in a cave near Dorun. I will take 14 men to the cave. Olsam, you take charge leading the assault to Dorun Village, take the rest with you," said Ivela. She planned to intervene these smugglers.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Olsam, middle aged man, nodded.


    ¡°Remember to secure the kidnapped children first, then deal with the smuggler," Ivela continued.


    Kingsmight members under Olsam nodded.


    ¡°Alright! Move out!¡±


    With Ivela¡¯s command, the Kingsmight split into two groups and moved.


    Dorun Village.


    Hande¡¯s carriage was already there and empty.


    ¡°Hunters, please come to my storage, I¡¯ll set up the payment for you.¡±


    Higa and Lexa followed Hande into a storage. Inside, about 20 people there sorting barrels.


    ¡°Please sit here, I¡¯ll complete the paper for my client first, then I''ll pay you," Hande smiled then went up to the second floor.


    ¡°Hey, how about we buy those herbs, you know for Marion or Aunt Germi," said Higa while watching the workers moving the barrels.


    Apparently, they also asked Hande what''s inside the barrels.


    ¡°Hmm? Sure, why not, let¡¯s ask Hande when he comes," said Lexa.


    Olsam with his group arrived at Dorun Village, they entered the village quietly so they won¡¯t draw any attention that might alert the smugglers.


    They entered a house from its backdoor.


    ¡°Good, you guys arrived," a woman greeted them, she¡¯s the intel, but not a Kingsmight, she¡¯s from Arozora soldier rank.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± asked Olsam.


    ¡°There¡¯s a storage in the corner. They have about 20 people there. They rarely go out from the storage at noon, I can assure you all of them in this village are in there.¡±


    ¡°Good. You and you, follow her to evacuate the civilians, you four, get ready at the storage backdoor, storm from behind when you hear an explosion. Got it?¡± said Olsam.


    All of them nodded.


    ¡°Move out!¡±


    Hande was descending from the second floor when the front door exploded.


    ¡°What!?¡± Hande quickly went back to the second floor. Did not really bother to see what caused the explosion.


    Everyone in the storage was shocked by the explosion.


    Four Kingsmight members entered the storage from the exploded door.


    ¡°Shit! It¡¯s Kingsmight! Run!¡± The smugglers ran away to the backdoor. But before they reached the door, it exploded too.


    ¡°Guahh!!!¡±


    Other four Kingsmight members already stood there.


    ¡°Wha-what just happening!? Why Kingsmight is here?¡± Higa panicked.


    ¡°I don''t know!¡± said Lexa, she tried to stay calm.


    No one was moving in this situation.


    Olsam walked towards the barrels, then he opened one of them. He could only see the herbs. He took out the herbs quickly. Then, an unconscious boy buried within the herbs could be seen.


    ¡°Clever¡­ using Mannio herbs to conceal human aura¡­ so we can¡¯t sense it," said Olsam.


    ¡°Oh shit, this is smuggler¡¯s storage!? We just took a job from them!?¡± Higa grasped the situation quickly.


    Olsam looked around. ¡°Finish them off, I¡¯ll handle the second floor," he said.


    Then, every Kingsmight members started moving, they killed the smugglers one by one easily.


    ¡°Shit! What do we do!?¡± Higa panicked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk to them! We¡¯re just Hunters they hired, we have nothing to do with this!¡± Lexa was composed as always, but Higa could see worries in her eyes.


    Two Kingsmight members approached them.


    ¡°Hey! Wait! We¡¯re just Hunters! We didn''t know they are smugglers when we accept the quest!¡± said Higa, he stood in front of Lexa.


    The two Kingsmight looked at each other then laughed.


    ¡°Cornered rats always have ways to free themselves, huh?¡±


    ¡°And they have a cutie too!¡± They laughed.


    ¡°Sorry! We don''t believe you!¡±


    Suddenly, they attacked Higa and Lexa. Higa parried their attack with Eagle¡¯s Talon.


    ¡°Damn! We have no choice but to fight!¡± said Higa.


    ¡°Looks like it!¡± Lexa casted water magic.


    She carefully controlled it so it won''t hit the barrels, deflecting the Kingsmight¡¯s attacks.


    Other Kingsmight members had finished their job. Dead bodies everywhere.


    They joined the fight. Higa was fighting 4 Kingsmight members while Lexa was fighting 3.


    Olsam descended from the second floor.


    ¡°You guys still haven''t wrap it up? Oh well, I¡¯m going ahead to the cave to meet the Vice Captain. Don''t forget about the children," with that, Olsam left the storage.


    ¡°Can¡¯t believed these smugglers have someone this strong! I can''t land a hit on him!¡± said one of the Kingsmight members.


    Higa calmly countered every hit. It looked like he was being pushed by 4 Kingsmight members. But it was the opposite, they were being pushed back by Higa.


    Lexa also skillfully pushed back the 3 Kingsmight member with her water magic and throwing knives. Without even scratching one of the barrels around them.


    ¡°Damn this girl!¡±


    One of the Kingsmight casted an earth creation magic, Stone Fist. A huge fist flew towards Lexa.


    Lexa could easily dodge it, but there were barrels behind her.


    ¡°Tsk!¡±


    Lexa quickly casted water creation magic, Water Drill. A water magic with twisting giant drill shape.


    It pierced the Stone Fist easily.


    The 3 Kingsmight members evaded the drill that broke through the Stone Fist. The Water Drill hit the storage wall and exploded. Fortunately, the barrels were safe.


    Half of the storage was gone. A brief rain from the explosion made the floor wet and puddles were everywhere.


    ¡°I think we should get serious! This girl is dangerous!¡± said one of the Kingsmight members. His armor got drenched with water from Lexa¡¯s magic.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± one of the Kingsmight members looked around. ¡°I see¡­ I don''t know if you smugglers have some sort of code not to kill or have confidence that you can beat us here, so you can still sell the children. But whatever it is, I¡¯m going to exploit it!¡± he said.


    With a hand movement, that Kingsmight casted an earth creation magic. A big boulder was floating above the barrels.


    ¡°Now, will you still fight back?¡± he slowly lowered the boulder to the barrels.


    When the boulder touched and pressed against the barrels, a sound of crack came from the barrels. It was slowly crushing the barrels.


    ¡°What!? What are you doing!?¡± Lexa angrily shouted.


    ¡°Didn''t I tell you? Exploiting your weakness!¡±


    ¡°Aren''t Kingsmight supposed to help the weak!? Uphold righteousness and justice!?¡± said Lexa while glaring.


    ¡°Not all, girl! Maybe, Olsam, but us seven, always enjoy the opposite! We love to watch the despair of our enemies!¡±


    ¡°Heck, even Vice Captain Ivela told us to secure the children first. See, even Olsam sometimes just freely do things," a woman Kingsmight member added.


    ¡°So you just do whatever you like behind your superiors!? As long as the results are what they want!?¡± said Lexa as she clenched her fists tighter and tighter.


    ¡°Well of course we will report something good," the woman Kingsmight smirked.


    ¡°You trash!¡± You just taint what Kingsmight stands for!¡± said Lexa angrily.


    ¡°Say what you want.¡±


    The woman Kingsmight punched Lexa hard in the face.


    Lexa fell to the ground.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Hoy! hoy! Don''t hurt her face. Maybe I am gonna enjoy her later, heheheh," a bald Kingsmight licked his own lips.


    ¡°Tsk, whatever!¡± said the woman Kingsmight.


    She put her sword to Lexa¡¯s neck. Lexa gritted her teeth.


    ¡°Yoo! You there! You might want to stop fightback," she called out Higa that was still fighting the Kingsmight members.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    The moment Higa distracted by the view from the other side. He was hit hard by a Kingsmight that saw a chance.


    His body was flown and crashed into the wall. Before he was about to stand up, a sword pierced his right shoulder.


    ¡°Arrgh!!!¡± Higa screamed painfully.


    ¡°Higa! Nooo!!!¡± shouted Lexa.


    Another sword pierced through Higa¡¯s left thigh to the floor.


    Higa screamed again.


    ¡°Now, you can''t stand and won''t go anywhere," a tall Kingsmight smiled.


    Higa stared at him in the eye.


    ¡°What? You want more?¡± said the Kingsmight.


    He stabbed Higa with a knife on his stomach.


    ¡°Guhh!!¡± Higa coughed up blood.


    And stabbed other two knives on his left shoulder and right thigh.


    ¡°Please! Stop! We¡¯re innocent!¡± Lexa sobbed.


    Lexa couldn''t hold her emotions seeing his future husband was beaten and she couldn''t do anything about it.


    ¡°Oh, shut up!¡± The woman Kingsmight hit Lexa¡¯s side neck. Lexa fell unconscious.


    ¡°Dang! this man is tough! He is still alive with these wounds!¡± The tall Kingsmight was amazed.


    ¡°Come on guys, let''s go to where the Vice Captain is. And bring these children. We can''t be here too long, don''t wanna other Kingsmight see what we did here," said the Kingsmight that casted the boulder. He moved the boulder to the side.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go directly to our base in the capital. Can''t let the Vice Captain knows I bring someone to play. Tell her I have a date! Heheheh!¡± The bald Kingsmight looked at Lexa with a thirsty expression. He then took the unconscious Lexa on her shoulder and left.


    ¡°L-le-...lex, cough! cough!¡± Higa was struggling to look at Lexa that being taken away.


    ¡°What about him?¡±


    ¡°Just leave him, no way he would survive with those wounds. Let''s go!¡±


    All of the Kingsmight members left Dorun Village.

 Chapter 6 - Brother

    ¡°That¡¯s Dorun Village!¡± said Cain. He was still running when he saw a village up ahead.


    The village was still empty. The evacuated civilians had not been allowed to go back.


    Cain arrived at the village entrance. ¡°Higa! Lexa!¡± he quickly searched for his friends.


    ¡°Maybe on that building!¡± Cain rushed towards the only damaged building in the area.


    Bodies and blood were everywhere. When Cain saw Higa¡¯s body, he rushed towards him.


    ¡°No, no, no! This can''t be happening!¡± Cain checked Higa¡¯s pulse. Higa¡¯s face was pale because he lost too much blood.


    ¡±There is! Pulse! Higa! Wake up! He shook Higa¡¯s body lightly.


    ¡°... Th- tha hur..t," Higa opened his eyes slowly.


    ¡°Higa!? Thank Goddess! Here, drink this!¡±


    Cain took out a potion from his bag, and helped Higa drink it.


    That yellow colored potion was made from Vemoren Herb, it quickly stimulated the white blood cell called the macrophage that helped fighting infection and disease. It also helped to heal wounds faster and stop the bleeding.


    ¡°What happened!?¡± asked Cain.


    Higa told him what happened.


    ¡°Kingsmight did this!?¡±


    ¡°Ye-yeah¡­ th-they... do things¡­ behind their super¡­ rior. Take my.. b-book.¡±


    There''s a book near Higa¡¯s left leg.


    ¡°Your book?¡± Cain took the book and flipped it.


    It was an empty book given by Igo before he left. Higa filled it with sketch of portrait, when he had nothing to do.


    Cain stopped flipping the book when a portrait of man painted with blood came.


    ¡°This?¡±


    ¡°I drew¡­ all of thei.. their faces¡­ who did this¡­ who took Lexa.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Alright! Let''s get you out of here first!¡±


    ¡°I won''t¡­ survive¡­¡±


    ¡°The heck are you saying!? You are getting married next year! Here, I¡¯ll pull all of these out of your body.¡±


    Cain held the sword that pierced Higa¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    Higa nodded weakly.


    Cain pulled the sword and quickly close the wound with a cloth.


    ¡°Arrrghhh!! Heck yeah!!! I''m getting married next year!!! Cough! Cough!¡±


    ¡°That''s the spirit!, Come on! We¡¯ve got more to pull!¡±


    ¡°Haah... haah¡­ that¡¯s really hurt¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll find some clean clothes or bandages, then I''ll pull the rest.¡±


    Cain found few clean cloths and bandages. He managed to pull all of the sharps from Higa¡¯s body. ¡°(These are terrible wounds¡­)¡± thought Cain as he applied an ointment he brought to the wounds so the wounds would dry faster. But he only managed to cover Higa¡¯s shoulder with the bandages, because there¡¯s just not enough.


    ¡°Sorry, I''m not coming faster, I should¡¯ve not held back when I come here," said Cain.


    When Cain went to Dorun from Makkir, He just running with simple speed enhancing technique. Now with all this happened, He thought he should''ve used his full power to go faster. He regretted it deeply.


    ¡°That''s fine¡­ at least you ca.. came.¡±


    ¡°Let''s get outta here," Cain carried Higa on his back.


    Cain took a stance and jumped. He jumped forward very far. When he landed, he quickly jumped again. The ground where he landed and jumped became a mini crater.


    ¡°I''m tired¡­¡± said Higa.


    ¡°You can go to sleep, when you wake up, Lexa will be there beside you, waiting for you to open your eyes," Cain smiled wryly.


    ¡°Heheh¡­ that¡¯d be nice¡­ listen¡­ Cain¡­ our bracelets... are actually magic items... it can track each other¡­ use it¡­ to find Lexa¡­¡±


    ¡°I will! Even if I have to turn Arozora upside down, I will find her," Cain laughed bitterly.


    ¡°Heheh¡­ kick their asses for me¡­¡± Higa laughed weakly.


    ¡°And¡­ Cain¡­¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°Take good care of her¡­ for me¡­¡±


    Silence took over for few minutes.


    Cain landed and slowly walked then stopped. He just stood there. He clenched his fists.


    Cain realized, he just lost his best friend, his brother, his family member.


    Tears were flowing down on his cheek.


    He put Higa¡¯s body under a tree.


    Higa was smiling on his death, his face looked relaxed.


    Cain looked at his face.


    ¡°What are you smiling for!?¡± Cain shouted to his best friend''s dead body.


    Cain burst out with tears, he couldn''t hold back his emotions. He fell into his knees.


    ¡°Please¡­ please tell me¡­¡± he sobbed. ¡°... Why are you smiling¡­¡±


    Cain was silent for a few minutes. Gentle breeze swept his face.


    He stood up, and wiped his eyes.


    ¡°I will Higa, I will¡­¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    He carried Higa on his back again.


    He jumped, but now the crater was two times bigger than before, and he jumped farther.


    ¡­


    Palvaran Orphanage.


    Aunt Germi was reading a book while some kids were playing in front of her. Then, the building trembled a bit.


    ¡°Waah! it¡¯s an earthquake!!¡± The kids cheerfully ran around the room.


    When the front door opened, Cain entered the orphanage.


    ¡°Huh? Cain?¡± Aunt Germi seemed surprised, she closed her book.


    ¡°Wah! It¡¯s brother Cain! Let''s play!¡± said the children, swarming Cain in no time.


    ¡°Kids! Go back to your room, now!¡± said Aunt Germie, she realized something was wrong.


    ¡°Ehh, why? We want to play with brother Cain!¡±


    ¡°Quick! Now!¡± said Aunt Germi with serious face.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± The kids lowered their heads and went to their rooms.


    ¡°Cain, what happened?? Is that Higa? Is he okay? Where¡¯s Lexa?¡±


    Cain said nothing, he was just looking at Aunt Germi with a sad face while holding his tears.


    ¡°Cain?¡±


    ¡°Is there an unused bed?¡± Cain finally opened his mouth.


    ¡°There is, come here.¡±


    Aunt Germi led him to a room. Cain laid Higa¡¯s body on the bed.


    Aunt Germi looked at Higa¡¯s body. ¡°Cain? why Higa¡¯s body is full of wounds? Wait¡­ wait¡­ Cain!? Why he isn''t breathing!?¡± Aunt Germi checked Higa¡¯s pulse.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Aunt Germi¡­ Higa... is gone¡­¡±


    ¡°What!? No! No! This can¡¯t be!¡± Aunt Germi almost fell, Cain caught her.


    ¡°Ooh Higa¡­¡± Aunt Germi was crying while rubbing Higa¡¯s forehead, she sat beside Higa¡¯s body.


    Aunt Germi always treated all the kids from the orphanage as her own child. Higa¡¯s death struck her deep.


    ¡°What happened, Cain?¡± Her eyes were wet with tears.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later¡­ would you please clean him?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ of course.¡±


    ¡°Thank you," Cain took the bracelet from Higa¡¯s wrist, turned his back and about to leave.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Looking for Lexa.¡±


    ¡°Be careful, Cain. Please.¡±


    Cain nodded without looking back.


    ...


    The sun was about to set. Cain stopped walking, he was looking at the bracelet on his palm. Then looked up to a fortress like building, the Kingsmight West Pillar. The same place where he registered for the test.


    The bracelet brought him here.


    He put the bracelet into his pants pocket. Then, he walked towards the building gate. There were two Kingsmight members as gatekeepers at the gate.


    ¡°Excuse me, is there a girl who has been brought here?¡± Cain talked to one of the gatekeepers. He wanted to get in without making a ruckus.


    ¡°I don''t think so, why?¡±


    ¡°I think my friend has been brought here, can I come in?¡±


    ¡°Sorry kid, you can''t come in, unless you have an official business.¡±


    Cain was not in the mood for an argument. And he realized he was just wasting time.


    ¡°You¡¯re not in the list, but you¡¯re in the way. Sorry about this!¡±


    Cain hit the gatekeeper with his palm on the abdomen. The gate broke down because the gatekeeper flew through it.


    ¡°What!?¡± The other gatekeeper was perplexed after he saw that. The Kingsmight members inside the building were alerted by the sound.


    Only a few civilians were around there, and they did not seem noticed the ruckus because they were a bit far.


    ¡°Hey! you okay!?¡± a Kingsmight member was checking the fallen gatekeeper.


    ¡°He is still alive," Cain spoke coldly.


    ¡°We have an intruder! Alert everyone!¡±


    West Pillar Underground Dungeon.


    One of three candles on the wall suddenly lit up by itself. It was a silent alarm feature in Kingsmight Base


    ¡°What now!? Intruder? After all I¡¯ve done to bring her here unnoticed?¡± said a bald Kingsmight after he saw the burning candle.


    It''s the Kingsmight member that took Lexa. He entered a confined room.


    In the room, Lexa was lying down on the floor, her hands handcuffed with Arcnomger, a special handcuffs. If she were to cast magic or any technique, it would cut her hands off instantly.


    She stared at the man in front of him.


    ¡°There''s no way someone would be stupid enough to invade this Kingsmight base, probably a false alarm or a drill. Now let me enjoy you, heheheh," said the bald Kingsmight. He licked his upper lip.


    West Pillar Hall


    ¡°You actually dare to invade Kingsmight base? Kid! You have a death wish!¡±


    Kingsmight members started to gather in the hall. Some Kingsmight also stood ready from the mezzanine.


    Cain looked at every Kingsmight members who were ready to attack him.


    ¡°Found two," said Cain. His cold expression didn''t change.


    ¡°What a weirdo! I¡¯ll handle him!¡±


    A big Kingsmight jumped down from the second floor and swung down a huge hammer to Cain.


    Cain evaded the hammer that smashed the floor. He quickly countered with a kick. The Kingsmight let go his hammer and his put guard up against Cain¡¯s kick.


    He was pushed back about 5 meters.


    ¡°Did he just push me ba-!¡±


    A hammer was flying to him, his hammer, thrown by Cain.


    A flying spear hit the hammer, changed its trajectory. The hammer crashed into a pillar next to the big Kingsmight.


    ¡°Shit! That almost hit me!¡±


    ¡°Careful! He¡¯s strong!¡±


    The Kingsmight unsheathed their weapons and prepared their magic.


    ¡°(As expected of Kingsmight, this won''t be easy,)¡± thought Cain.


    4 wind lances flew towards Cain.


    Cain evaded them by running towards to one of the Kingsmight, one of the targets.


    ¡°You!¡± said the Kingsmight.


    The Kingsmight took a stance with his sword and started attacking Cain. Cain easily dodged his sword slash, then he grabbed the Kingsmight¡¯s hand and seized the sword. Stabbed his right foot two times and cut his left forearm. Then kicked him.


    ¡°Uaaargghh!!! Ah! Aarrghh!¡± His scream echoed in the hall.


    Blood gushed out from his hand.


    All of the Kingsmight members in the hall were in shock.


    ¡°Did he just beat Kargea!? Rank 39th!?¡± one of the Kingsmight didn¡¯t believe what he saw.


    ¡°Stop his bleeding if you don''t want him to die," Cain coldly spoke to the Kingsmight in front of him. Then, he pointed the sword to one of the Kingsmight on the second floor.


    ¡°You¡¯re next," said Cain.


    Cain held the sword with two hands, He lowered his stance. With incredible speed, he swung the sword upward.


    The ground was slashed with a straight line, the mezzanine on the second floor also got slashed onto the Kingsmight Cain targeted.


    ¡°Wha- My eye! Aaarghhh!¡±


    He was slashed from his left leg up to his left eye, blood spurted from the wound. But it wasn''t a fatal wound, Cain intentionally to cut not too deep.


    ¡°What the hell!? What was that technique!?¡±


    ¡°It''s like Wind Slash! But Wind Slash has a visible wave! And what the heck is that range!?¡±


    Cain used Wind Guillotine. A sword technique from the Book of Gomara. The key was not how much strength to do it, but the speed and a perfect arc shaped swing. Creating an invisible and ranged powerful slash with incredible speed.


    Wind Slash was a common sword technique, while Wind Guillotine was just like its upgrade.


    ¡°This guy is dangerous! Get serious everyone!¡±


    The sword Cain used was broken into pieces. It couldn''t handle Cain¡¯s power.


    ¡°What the hell is happening here!¡±


    More Kingsmight members came out.


    Cain looked to the Kingsmight members that just came. ¡°Found the other three," he said. His gaze locked to them.


    ¡°We don''t know who the fuck he is, but he just beat Kargea and Harl!¡± said the Kingsmight who witnessed it.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Surround him and attack together!¡±


    About 7 Kingsmight leaped to where Cain stood.


    Cain also leaped and attacked one of the Kingsmight in mid air and snatched his weapon, a staff. Cain also stepped on him to jump mid air.


    ¡°What a fool! You let yourself in mid air too long!¡± a woman Kingsmight that already landed casted a fire creation magic, Flame Net. Shot up towards Cain.


    Cain twisted his body as he held the staff, creating a horizontal twister. It¡¯s called Cruel Spin. The Flame Net split into two when they collided in mid air.


    Still twisting, he went down and attacked the woman Kingsmight. One of the target.


    The woman Kingsmight¡¯s right shoulder was hit by the staff as Cain landed on the floor with squatted position. All her bones on her right side were broken. The staff split in half


    Cain threw the staff remains to a Kingsmight¡¯s face. He deflected them with his mace, only found his face got grabbed by Cain. Cain rammed his head to a pillar behind him two times. Cain let his head go and spun, hit his stomach with his elbow. He puked blood and fell to the ground.

 Chapter 7 - Sister

    ¡°What is this!? How can he be this strong!?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s on par with the Vice Captains! Or maybe even the Captain!¡±


    ¡°Look out! He¡¯s coming to you!¡±


    Cain dashed to a targeted Kingsmight.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    The Kingsmight tried to punch Cain.


    Cain grabbed his hand and punched his stomach. Then he lifted the Kingsmight up with one hand while still holding his hand and slammed him to the floor. It was Beast Slam technique.


    The impact made the floor collapsed, Cain fell into the underground dungeon.


    He fell about 4 meters down and landed easily. The Kingsmight he slammed was half buried, unconscious.


    ¡°What the fuck now!?¡± a voice came from behind a door in front of Cain.


    When the door opened, a bald Kingsmight appeared from the door.


    ¡°What!? Who¡¯re you!?¡± said the bald Kingsmight. Surprised to see someone he did not know.


    Cain¡¯s gaze fell on a girl behind him, half naked, she covered her upper body with clothes. Her left face was bruised.


    Their eyes met.


    ¡°Cain?¡± she said softly, a spark lit her gloomy eyes.


    Ignored by Cain, the bald Kingsmight looked at the rubble behind Cain, he saw the half buried Kingsmight with his face sticking out.


    ¡°Huh!? Isn¡¯t that Gar-¡±


    Cain grabbed his face and squeezed it.


    ¡°What did you do to her!!?¡± shouted Cain.


    ¡°Arkh! Arkh!!¡±


    He took a knife from his back and tried to stab Cain. Cain grabbed his hand and twisted it. The bald Kingsmight right hand was bent abnormally. And Cain squeezed his face harder.


    ¡°Akhh! Akh! Aakkhh!¡±


    He screamed painfully.


    ¡°He hasn''t done anything to me, Cain," Lexa stood up. She covered her body with her tattered clothes.


    Cain smashed him to the wall, took the keys from his belt and threw him to the side. The Kingsmight fell unconscious instantly.


    Cain went to Lexa and released the Arcnomger.


    Lexa immediately hugged Cain and cried.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now," Cain stroked her back.


    ¡°Higa!? How¡¯s Higa!?¡± Lexa released her hug.


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s okay, I left him with Aunt Germi," said Cain, he couldn¡¯t let her know the truth, yet.


    ¡°Thank Goddess!¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± Cain lent Lexa his jacket. ¡°Let''s go. Can you walk?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied. ¡°Those stairs will lead us to the hall," she pointed to a staircase.


    They proceed to the staircase.


    ¡°Cain, please don''t hate all Kingsmight member for this," said Lexa as they went up.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Lexa told Cain about Olsam and his group insubordination.


    Cain went silent as he gave no response.


    When they got back to the hall, the lumines crystals had already illuminated the hall. And the Kingsmight members were ready to go at him again.


    But, when a girl who shouldn¡¯t be there walked behind Cain, they were surprised.


    ¡°Where the hell did she come from!?¡±


    ¡°Is she the one he¡¯s looking for? But I don''t remember if there''s anyone in the underground dungeon!¡±


    ¡°Either way, we cannot let them escape!¡±


    The Kingsmight members took stances with their weapons and magic.


    ¡°Can you fight, Lexa?¡± said Cain while looking at the Kingsmight surrounding them.


    ¡°Yeah," Lexa nodded.


    Three Kingsmight members started attacking them. Lightning bolts and arrows flew towards Cain.


    Cain dodged them, then, a black hand emerged from black mist near his feet. Grabbed his right foot.


    ¡°Huh!?¡±


    A Kingsmight with a tower shield charged at him. From above, a Kingsmight with a greatsword was coming down to cleave him. 3 arrows also flew, aimed at him.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Cain moved his body backward to avoid the arrows, then he forcefully pulled his leg from the black hand, pulling it farther out of the mist. The greatsword cleaved the black hand.


    Cain¡¯s leg was free, but when he¡¯s about to dodge the shield charge, two more shield charges were coming at him from two different directions.


    Cain ran towards the first shield charger. He stepped onto the shield and jumped. But suddenly a whip caught his leg in mid air.


    Then, a huge lightning mace hit him from his left side. Cain body was thrown and crashed against a pillar. He fell to the floor.


    ¡°Finally! We hit him!¡±


    ¡°I bet at least he¡¯s unconscious or something!¡±


    said the Kingsmight.


    Cain stood up while holding his left shoulder. That attack made his left shoulder dislocated.


    ¡°Damn! He¡¯s tough! He¡¯s still standing after receiving that attack!?¡± said the Kingsmight.


    ¡°Cain! Are you okay!?¡± Lexa hurriedly came to his side, two water swordfish were floating around her.


    ¡°This is nothing! Keep focus!¡± said Cain.


    Two Kingsmight rushed to attack Cain.


    From the second floor, an arrow aimed at Cain''s left side was released. It turned into purple light in mid air.


    Lexa intercepted the purple arrow with her two swordfish. But when they touched the arrow, the water swordfish were instantly evaporated.


    Lexa casted Wind Twisting Lance and tried again. But it had no effect.


    Lexa looked at Cain, his back was wide open. She did not have enough time to cast higher magic to block the arrow.


    She jumped to the purple arrow trajectory. Shielding Cain with her body.


    The purple arrow struck her chest.


    Her body fell on the floor. She cried out in pain.


    ¡°Lexa!!!¡±


    Cain pushed back his attackers. Then rushed to fallen Lexa.


    Lexa was writhing in pain. Cain put her body on his arm. The chest where she was pierced was burned. The arrow already turned back to normal.


    ¡°No, no! Lexa!? Why¡¯d you do this!?


    Cain held her hand.


    ¡°Cough! I know you¡­ lied, Cain¡­¡±


    ¡°W-what do you mean!?¡±


    ¡°This bracelet¡­ knows when the pair is in danger¡­ or¡­ Cough!... Is gone¡­ I already know¡­ Higa is¡­ Cough! Cough!¡± Lexa puked blood.


    Cain was silent. The Kingsmight members approached them cautiously as they surrounding them.


    ¡°Listen, Cain¡­ thank you¡­ for coming¡­ all this happened¡­ never blame yourself¡­ you hear me?... And¡­ live happily¡­ as always¡­¡±


    She puked more blood before she stopped breathing.


    It was Purple Break, a bow and arrow technique. When the purple arrow hit the target, the purple light would burn inside whatever it pierced.


    ¡°How can I¡­ how can I live happily if you two are gone¡­¡±


    Cain was crying weakly.


    ¡°You should surrender now!¡± one of the Kingsmight members pointed his sword at Cain.


    ¡°You¡­ Kingsmight¡­ of all people, the one that should protect people of Arozora¡­¡± said Cain, looking at Lexa¡¯s face. ¡°You took my brother¡­ now you took my sister!¡± he said in anger.


    Flame appeared from the floor, circling around Cain and Lexa. The flame rose up slowly.


    ¡°What! Flame!? He can use magic!? A creation magic!?¡±


    ¡°Doesn''t that mean he was holding back from the start!?¡±


    The Kingsmight members took steps back as the flame rose higher and turned into rotating flame pillar as Cain and Lexa were at its center.


    The flames gotten wild. It was rotating faster and higher.


    Suddenly, the flame pillar shot up and broke the roof of the base.


    The civilians around the area could see this clearly, as the flame pillar rose up more than 20 meters high in the dark night sky.


    Not far from the base, Ivela Caral was seeing this.


    ¡°What the!?¡± She just got back from reporting the smugglers case at Aroum City Palace. She heard there''s a commotion on her base, but she didn''t think it would be like this. She rushed to the base she¡¯s in charge of, where the flame pillar was.


    The flame pillar then dropped down fast and the rotation became much faster.


    It was no longer visible from the outside. A second later, the base exploded.


    The explosion was not big enough to cause surrounding buildings to become the collateral damage. But enough to obliterate the entire Kingsmight West Pillar.


    The civilians fled from the area after the explosion. None of them got caught by the explosion.


    Ivela Caral arrived at the scene. She looked at the burning West Pillar that crumbled to ruins.


    ¡°Oh Goddess¡­¡± she rushed to the ruins.


    When she entered what was left of the base, many of the Kingsmight members were lying on the ground, writhing in pain because of the burns. The burns were not severe, but the pain won''t just disappear with healing magic.


    Cain used Deep Burn to enhance his Flame Pillar magic, a magic from Book of Gomara. It made the burn pain persist. Even when the skin was healed, the pain would still be there for six to nine months.


    ¡°What happened!?¡± Ivela tried to talk with the sprawled Kingsmight members. But the pain won''t let them answer.


    Ivela looked around and she saw Cain. She rushed there.


    ¡°You!? You were at the Kingsmight test! What are you doing here!? Are you the one who did this!? Answer me!¡± Ivela unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Cain.


    Cain was sitting on the ground with Lexa on her arm. Looking at the ground, His gaze was empty.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I did this,¡± he answered without looking at Ivela.


    ¡°Why you did this!?¡± Ivela put her sword on Cain''s neck.


    Cain raised his head, He looked into her eyes.


    ¡°Oh¡­ it¡¯s you¡­ why, you said?¡± Cain laughed weakly.


    ¡°Your men, mistook my friends as smugglers! Brutally killed my best friend! And took her here to enjoy her! That''s why!¡±


    ¡°My men won''t do that!¡± she pressed her sword. A drop of blood slid down on Cain''s neck.


    ¡°Well, Lady Caral, I guess you don''t know your men very well," said Cain.


    ¡°As I really wanted to behead you right now, but if what you said is true!..." Ivela gritted her teeth. "Stand up! I¡¯ll take you to the King!¡±


    ¡°King, eh?... Fine.¡±


    Cain put Lexa¡¯s body down. He held his left shoulder and carefully pressed it.


    A crack sound came from his shoulder. He just popped his shoulder back.


    Cain stood up and carried Lexa¡¯s body on his arms.


    ¡°You can sheathe your sword. I won''t go anywhere," said Cain, he looked at Ivela with weary eyes.


    Ivela glared at Cain. ¡°Move!¡± she sheathed her sword.


    A small group of Kingsmight and soldiers of Aroum arrived at the ruins.


    ¡°Vice Captain Ivela, what happened here!?¡± a woman Kingsmight asked Ivela.


    ¡°We will find out. He¡¯s the culprit, I¡¯ll take him to the King,¡± said Ivela, then, she took out a piece of paper and wrote something. ¡°You, give this to my brother and tell him it¡¯s urgent," Ivela gave the paper to one of the Kingsmight members.


    ¡°And the rest of you, help the wounded Kingsmight there," she continued.


    The Kingsmight and the soldiers nodded.


    ¡°I can''t believe it! Someone actually dare to challenge the Kingsmight!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and it seems they succeeded.¡±


    The civilians started to gather around the crumbled Kingsmight West Pillar.

 Chapter 8 - King Iligo Maxigun

    Before they went to Aroum City Palace, Cain requested to visit Emerald Horn Inn first, to safekeep Lexa¡¯s body. Ivela granted it after she ordered a soldier to notify the King and all of the Kingsmight.


    They entered the inn from its backdoor to avoid a commotion. When Marion saw what happened to Lexa, she held her tears and said nothing. But Cain knew, she knew they were the cause of the commotion at Kingsmight West Pillar because he was accompanied by Ivela, a well known Vice Captain of Kingsmight.


    Cain promised to tell what happened to Marion later and left.


    Along the walk to the Palace, Ivela asked nothing to Cain, as he was just silent.


    Aroum City Palace.


    All of the Kingsmight had been gathered in the Throne Hall. Except those who were devastated by Cain and two other Vice Captains, they weren''t in Arozora at the moment.


    All of were summoned to discuss the matter of the destruction of West Pillar.


    Before Cain entered the Palace, he was handcuffed with an Arcnomger by the guards.


    ¡°You know this means nothing to me, right? said Cain.


    ¡°Just try, that handcuff will cut off your hands if you try to use any magic," Ivela replied without looking at him.


    Cain walked in the corridor with Ivela. The corridor was wide and brightly illuminated with lumines crystals on the wall. A big door to the Throne Hall awaited them.


    The big door was opened by the guards.


    When Cain and Ivela entered the Throne Hall, all of the Kingsmight eyes were fixed over Cain. The eyes of angry mob that ready to obliterate him at that moment if the King said so because of what he did to their comrades.


    Suddenly, a stabbing aura leaked from Cain for a second. He saw what he expected.


    But a sword touched his neck, Ivela reacted to his aura by just a split second. Most of the Kingsmight also got their hands on their weapons, ready to unsheathe them because of that aura.


    ¡°Don''t try anything funny!¡± said Ivela.


    Ivela knew the Arcnomger would react if he tried anything, but this man was dangerous. Who knew what might happen, maybe even when his hands got cut off, he would unleash anything until he ran out of blood.


    Cain shrugged, responding to Ivela¡¯s words.


    She then retracted and sheathed her sword.


    Cain was brought before the throne. A couple of stairs made Cain¡¯s head looked up to the King who sat there.


    He was there, King Iligo Maxigun the Mighty. He wore an asymmetrical crown made of translucent maroon crystal. With his King Attire, he appeared so majestic.


    On his left side, stood Dios, and Bagulv on the opposite.


    Cain felt so nostalgic when he saw his King in the eye.


    ¡°Where are your manner!? You''re in front our King!¡± Ivela¡¯s hand forced Cain¡¯s head to bow down.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, Ivela,¡± Igo waved his hand. ¡°It''s been a while, Cain," said King Iligo.


    The moment Cain heard his voice, flashbacks from the days he trained under Igo with Higa and Lexa were bursting out of his mind.


    ¡°O-oldman!?¡± Cain¡¯s eyes widened.


    Igo¡¯s appearance was 180 degrees different from when he taught the Trio. That''s why Cain did not recognize him by just his appearance alone.


    ¡°Watch your mou-!¡±


    Igo waved his hand again to interrupt Bagulv¡¯s anger.


    ¡°Haha¡­ hahahahaha!¡± Cain burst into laughter. ¡°All this time¡­ you¡¯re the King?¡± and end it with a bitter smile.


    ¡°Yes, I am King Iligo of Arozora. It''s good to see you''re fine but, not exactly ¡°fine¡±," Iligo smirked.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. A young man was talking casually with the King.


    ¡°Your Majesty, do you know this young man?¡± Bagulv curiously asked.


    ¡°Yeah, but it''s not the matter now,¡± said King Iligo. ¡°Cain, from what the report said, you brutally injured and crippled many Kingsmight, also destroyed the West Pillar. Is it true?¡± he asked with a serious expression.


    ¡°... yes," said Cain coldly.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Igo while rubbing his beard.


    ¡°Hah! You asking why!? Really!? Do you see Higa and Lexa!? No? Ask the Kingsmight I just crippled!¡± said Cain angrily.


    Igo frowned. ¡°Bagulv?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, from what we have just gathered from the group that assaulted Dorun Village, some Kingsmight mistook a new Hunter as a smuggler. When we confirm it to the Hunter guild, the victim actually was a legal new Hunter that just took his first quest," said Bagulv.


    Apparently, Ivela told her brother to investigate her own group that assaulted Dorun Village by the paper she sent. Her brother responded fast with the report.


    ¡°And the name of the victim is Higa Grion," said Bagulv.


    Igo¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Are you sure!?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty," Bagulv nodded


    Igo simply didn''t believe it, he knew what Higa capable of. On the report, there was no casualty on Kingsmight¡¯s side at Dorun Village assault. There''s no way Higa couldn¡¯t bring down at least one Kingsmight. "(Heck, Higa could destroy the assault squad by himself except the Vice Captain.)" Igo thought.


    ¡°Huh!? That''s it!? Just that!? No explanation how the Kingsmight used the kidnapped children as hostages to made Higa and Lexa can¡¯t fight back!? No explanation how he got brutally tortured with seven big stab wounds on his body and left to die!? No explanation how they keep going on even when Lexa already plead they¡¯re innocent!? No explanation how they took Lexa to the dungeon of West Pillar to rape her!?¡±


    Cain panted out of breath. His burst of emotion made the Throne Hall went silent.


    ¡°Oh Goddess¡­ Cain, where¡¯s Lexa!?¡± Igo stood up from the throne.


    ¡°Your Majesty, you can''t just believe what he sa-¡±


    ¡°Bagulv, you asked me if I know him? I don''t just know him, he with the other two are my disciples. I never taught them to lie!¡± said King Iligo.


    Everyone in the room was dumbfounded, again.


    The Mighty Iligo who always refused the plea from anyone to become his disciple, just announced he had disciple, disciples.


    In Ivela¡¯s mind, now it all made sense, no wonder he could wreck an entire squad of Kingsmight, he was the disciple of the strongest man in the continent after all.


    ¡°Were. You left us, remember?¡± said Cain.


    Igo let out a bitter smile.


    ¡°As for Lexa, She gave her life to protect me. That¡¯s why I decide to blow up the West Pillar! Tsk! Kingsmight my ass! They swore to protect the King and his people, but just look what they have done. We just wanted a better life with an honest job!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Oh Goddess¡­ Lexa¡­¡± Igo closed his eyes while his hand on his forehead.


    ¡°But you have no right to persecute others!¡± Ivela grabbed Cain¡¯s collar.


    ¡°Heh¡­ does Kingsmight have rights to torture innocent people and rape? And don¡¯t forget, the Kingsmight members that handled the smugglers wete under your command, Lady Caral," said Cain.


    ¡°Kuhh!¡± Ivela couldn''t talkback, she knew Cain was right. She released Cain''s collar in frustration.


    Everyone was silent after Cain¡¯s respond to Ivela.


    ¡°Your Majesty, before you pass me the judgement, would you listen to my request first?¡± Cain bowed his head a bit. He called Igo with his title to make it formal.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Igo sat back on the throne.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to challenge him on a fight, right this moment," Cain pointed towards a Kingsmight that stood not far.


    A tall Kingsmight. He held a weapon, a spear. There¡¯s a white eagle ornaments on it. It was Eagle¡¯s Talon.


    ¡°You¡¯re the last of the target, the one who tortured Higa,¡± said Cain. ¡°How do I know? Heh, Higa describes you perfectly on his sketches," Cain stared at him with piercing eyes.


    The tall Kingsmight looked at Cain with a calm expression, then to the King.


    ¡°Your Majesty, may I?¡± The tall Kingsmight asked King Iligo for permission.


    ¡°Kirs, isn''t it? Fine, do it here," Igo approved. As he wanted to smack this man by himself because of what Cain said, He remained composed.


    The Kingsmight members gave them a big space enough to duel at their hearts content.


    When Ivela was about to release the Arcnomger on Cain, the Arcnomger had been broken into three pieces.


    ¡°Told you," Cain cracked his fingers.


    Ivela was just speechless, he just easily broke it and how.


    ¡°You¡­ you need any weapons?¡± offered Ivela. After she heard the truth, Ivela now felt sympathy for him.


    ¡°Nope," Cain replied.


    Cain and Kirs walked to the center.


    ¡°I am Kirs, rank 30th. The second strongest Kingsmight under Vice Captain Ivela Caral," Kirs smiled.


    ¡°Quit the pleasantries, I know you¡¯re wearing a mask, hiding your sadistic nature. And that weapon, not yours!¡± said Cain.


    Kirs smiled. ¡°Then, let''s fight!¡± Kirs dashed towards Cain.


    He skillfully swung Eagle¡¯s Talon, but none of them touched Cain.


    When Cain was about to counter, Kirs took a step back, but Cain won''t let him had an ideal range of spear. Cain narrowed the gap between them while evading the swings and thrusts.


    Finally, Cain saw an opening, he slapped Kirs¡¯s face. Hard.


    ¡°Guh!! Did you just slap m-¡±


    Cain landed another hard slap to Kirs¡¯s face. Kirs took a few steps back.


    ¡°As expected of the Kingsmight, you survived my slaps," Cain stopped his attack and praised Kirs with a sarcastic tone.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± His face was red with hand marks on each side.

 Chapter 9 - Judgement

    Cain sneered at Kirs.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± said Kirs.


    Kirs jumped and executed a cross shaped swings, a red cross wave created from the swings came towards Cain.


    Cain jumped to evade it. The red wave slashed the floor.


    ¡°Hah! Fool!¡± Kirs thrust the Eagle¡¯s Talon upwards when he landed.


    Cain who was still in the mid air was pierced by the spear. But he turned into flame and vanished.


    Suddenly, Cain appeared on Kirs¡¯s right side, another hard slap hit Kirs¡¯s face, he flew 4 meters and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Damn! Kirs was outplayed by that man!¡±


    ¡°3 slaps in a row! Wow!¡±


    ¡°Was that magic!? It¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Some Kingsmight members were amazed.


    It¡¯s called Flame Phantom, from the Book of Gomara. It created a doppelganger made from fire and hid the caster presence, but only last a few seconds. It¡¯s Cain¡¯s favourite.


    Cain used it to distract Kirs¡¯s focus so he could land another slap easily.


    ¡°Fuck! Fuck! I will carve my name in your face when I¡¯m done!¡± Kirs unmasked himself.


    He stood up and tossed the Eagle¡¯s Talon aside. He took out a small cylinder from his waist. The cylinder grew into a short spear, about 1.5 meters long.


    He opened his coat and 11 knives varied in size flew out of his coat. The knives were floating 2 meters above him, pointing to Cain.


    ¡°Kirs is getting serious! That is his secret technique that made him got the 30th place!¡±


    Kingsmight member around them became more excited.


    ¡°This is Flying Cuts! My secret technique! With this, your body will end up like your smuggler friend but with more wounds!¡± Kheheheheh!¡±


    Kirs didn''t realized he just admitted he tortured Higa in front of others.


    ¡°Bring it on," Cain calmly replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll wipe your arrogant face!¡± said Kirs.


    Kirs took a leap forward with his short spear pointed at Cain. Knives above him also moved with high speed.


    But Cain already knew, the moment Kirs took a leap, he already knew what Kirs gonna do.


    Cain just stood there not moving.


    Kirs¡¯s movement stopped. His spear almost reached Cain, about an inch from Cain''s face.


    All the knives flew past Cain and hit the floor. If Cain were to move, his body would have been stabbed by the knives.


    ¡°H-how!? How do you know!?¡± Kirs did not expect Cain saw through his technique.


    Cain spun his body towards Kirs.


    Kirs retracted his spear and held it close to defend from Cain¡¯s move. When Cain hit him with his back shoulder, Kirs was flown past above the Kingsmight that watching. He crashed a huge pillar and fell. His spear split in two.


    ¡°How do I know? Hmm, I spend my life sparring with the best spear user. I already know from the moment you leap forward. You intentionally won¡¯t hit me with the spear, instead you use the knives to finish the job," said Cain.


    But he would not hear Cain¡¯s explanation, he was already unconscious.


    Some Kingsmight went to check on him.


    ¡°He¡¯s still alive! Wait¡­ oh shit! Most all of his bones are broken!¡±


    Cain used Spinning Turtle, with centrifugal force, it hit very hard that would break and shatter bones.


    Most of Kingsmight members were shocked. Cain beat Kirs with just a few moves, he didn¡¯t even receive any hits. With that alone, they knew Cain had strength on par with the top ten of Kingsmight.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Interesting fellow, you taught him that technique?¡± Dios whispered to Igo.


    ¡°Nope, that technique probably from the book," said Igo.


    ¡°And that was magic, wasn''t it? The flame? You said he has no affinity towards elemental magic," another question by Dios.


    ¡°Indeed, I was also surprised when I heard he destroyed West Pillar with magic. Heck, it was even creation magic. Probably also from the book.¡±


    Cain took Eagle¡¯s Talon and walked towards Ivela who was standing in front of the throne. Ivela didn''t say a word, but she seemed amazed at Cain.


    ¡°You¡¯ve become so strong, Cain," Igo praised him.


    ¡°I learnt from the best," said Cain.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Igo looked at Kirs that being carried for treatment. ¡°Tell me Cain, why you didn''t just kill him? None of the Kingsmight die today. Even with the fiery explosion at the base. Why holding back?¡±


    ¡°Oh I really want to¡­ I really want to kill them. I even promised Higa that I would turn Arozora upside down if I can''t find Lexa. I¡¯m holding the urge to kill them with my hardest. But it¡¯s also Higa that made me didn''t kill them. He just said¡­ kick their asses. Then I realize, I¡¯ll just make them suffer as they live for what they have done," said Cain coldly.


    ¡°Higa didn''t ask me to kill them,¡± Cain continued, ¡°he even drew the man that tortured him the last. The first? Obviously the Kingsmight that harmed Lexa. You see, he always put others first. Even Lexa¡­ Lexa told me not to hate the Kingsmight, only those seven. Heh, were they naive?... Maybe I am. But they¡¯re gone now, and I¡¯m done with my vengeance! Old man, pass me the judgement!¡±


    Igo sighed and remained silent for a time. Then he stood up.


    ¡°Alright¡­ Because of his crime, that is destroying a Kingdom-owned property, I, King Iligo Maxigun of Arozora, hereby declare, Cain of Palvaran is banished from Arozora for 5 years!¡±


    ¡°Huh!?¡± Everyone in the hall was surprised at King Iligo¡¯s declaration.


    ¡°What!?¡± Cain no exception.


    ¡°But, Your Majesty! This man is dangerous! We should give him a death sentence!¡± Bagulv spoke his disagreement.


    ¡°He¡¯s not dangerous, Bagulv. Kingsmight made him like that,¡± Dios said that without looking at Bagulv.


    Cain was just silent. He was prepared for any consequences, but he never imagined he would be banished from his homeland.


    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s Kingsmight¡¯s fault to begin with," Dios continued.


    The crowd was getting restless.


    ¡°My decision is final. Cain, you will leave Arozora the day after tomorrow. You can go anywhere but no entry for Arozora in 5 years from the day you leave. If you do, you¡¯ll be regarded as a trespasser and will be dealt with our rules," said King Iligo.


    Cain looked at Igo¡¯s eyes. Clearly this was the act of forgiving from a teacher to his disciple.


    ¡°I see¡­ thank you, Your Majesty," Cain bowed.


    ¡°Your Majesty! Then I should receive a judgement as well!¡± said Ivela. ¡°I failed as a Kingspillar, I failed to control the men under my command!¡± Ivela also bowed to Igo. She felt she had a part of this incident. She felt responsible.


    ¡°Ivela!?¡± Bagulv was surprised to hear that.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Igo rubbed his beard.


    ¡°Ahh, actually, she¡¯s fine as she is now,¡± claimed Cain. ¡°Lexa told me, one of the Kingsmight said that Lady Caral ordered to deal with the children first then the smugglers. And this Kingsmight that looked like in charge ordered to handle the smugglers first. I think his name is Olsam or something," Cain looked at Igo then Ivela.


    All of the Kingsmight¡¯s gaze shifted to Olsam. He stood in the front row.


    Olsam said nothing, yet his face clearly stiffened.


    ¡°Olsam, we¡¯re gonna have a talk," Ivela¡¯s face was dead serious.


    Olsam could only bowed his head.


    ¡°Your Majesty, I have another request, last request," Cain really had a lot in his mind, but he kept composed.


    Igo nodded.


    ¡°Don''t disclose what has happened at Kingsmight to public. Can¡¯t let people start to think the Kingsmight is not reliable anymore," said Cain.


    This incident would hurt Kingsmight¡¯s fame, Cain worried there would be rumours based on this, and rumours were usually exaggerated. This could make the Kingsmight lose its credibility in the eyes of the people and made the Kingdom in jeopardy.


    The Kingsmight members were surprised at Cain¡¯s last request.


    Igo closed his eyes a bit then he agreed to Cain¡¯s request.


    ¡°But, what will we say to the people?¡± Dios looked to Igo.


    ¡°Just put in on me, but don¡¯t tell them why I did it," Cain answered that easily.


    The Throne Hall got quiet.


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Dios was certainly amazed by Cain.


    ¡°No problem, as long as the Kingsmight keep out themselves from the likes of those seven. And I¡¯m banished anyway, I have nothing to lose," Cain shrugged.


    Dios looked at Igo again and approved with the King¡¯s nod.


    Bagulv was speechless. He never thought that Cain actually cared about the consequences the Kingsmight would face from today¡¯s events. He regretted want him dead, he felt ashamed.


    ¡°Thank you, for standing up for me and the Kingsmight, even after we treat you badly," said Ivela.


    She smiled gently to Cain. Her impression of Cain after the incident had turned 180 degrees. She was really impressed, that Cain still thought of Kingsmight after what they did to him.


    Not only her, Most of the Kingsmight also felt the same, they were amazed by Cain¡¯s action. He saved Kingsmight¡¯s face from the public and let the blame placed on him.


    Cain smiled back bitterly.


    A clap could be heard from Kingsmight crowd, followed by a round of applause by the entire people in the Throne Hall including Dios, Bagulv and Igo.


    ¡°He¡¯s really fascinating, he¡¯s really your disciple," Dios spoke to Igo while clapping.


    Igo smiled. He stopped clapping and waved his hand, the applause was stopped.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. You¡¯re all dismissed. Cain, come with me to the terrace.¡±

 Chapter 10 - Sorrow

    Cain and Igo walked through a door near the throne. Igo waved his hand to Dios, so no one would interrupt them.


    Both of them stood on the terrace. Because the Palace was built on the high ground, the city landscape greeted them.


    They both gazed over the city illuminated by the crystals. A beautiful view only the Palace residence could have.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about what happened to Higa and Lexa. Wish I could see them one more time. I also should apologize, for I am the one who ordered Kingsmight to handle the smugglers," said Igo.


    Cain leaned against the railing. ¡°Why did you left us?¡± he asked.


    He didn''t really care about Igo¡¯s apology. He had a sad look on his face, he felt empty, his vengeance had been fulfilled. But he also failed to keep his promise to Higa.


    ¡°I have duties, I can¡¯t keep relying on Dios to attend my Kingdom," Igo¡¯s face showed a regret.


    ¡°Why don''t you just said you are the King to us?¡±


    ¡°How you will talk to me back then if I told I am the King? After the Queen died, only Dios that never cares about my position as the King, he talked to me casually like a friend, only when there''s no one of course. Then I found these carefree kids that did not know their King, they talked to me casually, you, talked to me casually. You even called your King, ¡°old man¡±," Igo smiled lightly.


    ¡°Would you still talk to me casually if I told you I am the King when we first met?¡± Igo continued.


    ¡°I¡­ see,¡± Cain paused a bit. ¡°I will, probably, but Lexa and Higa absolutely won¡¯t. But why don''t you just visit us time to time?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m gonna leave my duties too long again.¡±


    Both of them smiled wryly.


    ¡°You know¡­ Lexa and Higa were getting married, next year," said Cain while gazing at the city.


    Igo¡¯s eyes widened, he just couldn¡¯t believe what he heard.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not kidding," said Cain.


    ¡°Ooh Goddess¡­¡± Igo covered his face with his hand.


    Night wind blew over them, silence filled the air.


    ¡°I always treat you all like my own children, those seven years I spent with you all¡­ is so much fun, and it¡¯s one of the best," Igo sighed and smiled.


    Cain understood this when he realized Igo was the King where they met again in the Throne Hall. Current King of Arozora didn''t have any offspring. He also felt Igo was always nice to them, like a father to his children, just like how Aunt Germi treated them. Except when they were in training, he¡¯s ruthless.


    ¡°How¡¯s your training?¡± Igo changed the topic to escape from the sad atmosphere.


    ¡°My training? Hmm¡­ I just wrecked your Kingsmight, didn¡¯t I?¡± Cain smiled a bit.


    ¡°Hah! It''s as I expected! There''s no way my disciple would lose!¡± Igo laughed. ¡°But, since when you can cast magic?¡±


    There''s no record that a person who wasn''t blessed by even manipulation elemental magic could learn creation magic. Heroes from ancient times always showed their talents from a young age. This made Igo curious, because from when Igo left them, Cain never showed any improvement for magic.


    Cain smiled and gazed over the city.


    ¡°Hard work, what else?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Higa and Lexa knew this?¡±


    ¡°Nope, you always said to never use a trump card easily, which is ironic¡­ if I used my full power from the start, they could¡¯ve been alive right now.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn''t blame yourself for this.¡±


    Sad atmosphere filled the air again.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Old man, why don''t you just execute me? Higa died on my back, and Lexa on my arms. It¡¯s like¡­ my whole world is falling apart," said Cain.


    The death of his two best friends struck him hard.


    ¡°How can I execute my own disciple!? Besides, from the time I spent with you guys, I realize you all are bound to leave this Kingdom eventually. You all have free spirit, craving the outside world. That''s why I banish you.¡±


    ¡°You saw us through, huh?¡± Cain smiled lightly.


    ¡°I know you want to help Aunt Germi, and give her a better life, Kingmisght might be the best option, but you will be always bound here. I always remember when we first met, you said you wanted to be an adventurer and how your eyes lit up when I talked about outside places. I realized the Kingsmight won''t suit you, even though I told you to try for it. That''s why I sabotage your registration form.¡±


    Even though Kingsmight often went outside for an expedition, they wouldn''t go too far in case something were to happen within the Kingdom.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ it makes sense now why I was disqualified,¡± Cain scratched his head. ¡°But, I might disagree if Higa and Lexa were still here, I don¡¯t mind always live here as long as they are happy about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they want to see the world too. But I never thought it would end like this," said Igo.


    ¡°I just... hope it''s just a dream, all of this.¡±


    Igo walked towards Cain and slapped him hard.


    ¡°Really, kid!? I never taught you to be so whiny! You can still fight! So it''s too early to jump off the cliff!¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! I hear you! Dang, that sting!¡± Cain rubbed his red right cheek. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m gonna bury them tomorrow morning at the hill near the place we used to use for our training, the view is good there.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ that¡¯s a good spot, I¡¯ll be there,¡± said Igo. ¡°I will order Ivela to investigate about those seven thoroughly. I hope this will help you to ease your mind," he continued.


    ¡°Doesn''t matter, it won''t bring them back¡­ damn it!¡± said Cain. he clenched his fist.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown, eh? Igo looked at Cain.


    Cain only responded with a little smile. ¡°I should go back, I owe an explanation to some people,¡± said Cain.


    Igo smiled lightly. ¡°See you tomorrow," said he.


    Cain nodded as he left the terrace and its beautiful night view.


    Only Dios, Bagulv and Ivela were still in the Throne Hall.


    Cain took the Eagle¡¯s Talon he left. Then, Bagulv came to him.


    ¡°First, I¡¯d like to apologize to you on behalf of the Kingsmight," Bagulv extended his hand for a handshake.


    Cain took his hand firmly.


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°As expected of the King¡¯s disciple, your grip is strong indeed," said Bagulv.


    Cain smiled lightly.


    ¡°You should let him go home, Bagulv. He had a rough day," Dios also came to them with Ivela behind him.


    ¡°Ahh, I didn''t mean to-¡±


    ¡°I also apologize for my incompetence in leading my squad," Ivela stepped forward and cut his brother¡¯s words and slightly bowed.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright," said Cain.


    The tension from before was already gone. Bagulv also calmly talked to Cain without any resentment.


    ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s something I forgot to tell to the old-I mean the King," said Cain. ¡°When I was in Makkir, I heard people talking about that the King sent a group of Kingsmight to handle the smugglers. If the smugglers were happen to hear it first, They could have avoided the Kingsmight assault," Cain explained.


    Ivela, Bagulv and Dios looked at each other.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually a valuable information," said Ivela.


    ¡°So we have rats in the Palace," whispered Dios.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ probably," Bagulv replied.


    ¡°Alright then, I should go back," said Cain. What they talked about was no longer his concern.


    ¡°Thank you, Cain, for the information," said Ivela.


    Cain nodded and left them.


    ¡°Igo¡¯s disciple is really something,¡± Dios couldn''t help but smile. ¡°Not many will show that kind of care after what happened. The King taught him well about self restraint and courtesy," said Dios.


    ¡°True," said Bagulv.


    ¡°It¡¯s really a shame someone like him is banished, moreover, his friends, the King said himself that his dead friends also on par with the Kingsmight¡¯s top ten," Dios spoke to Bagulv and Ivela while watching Cain¡¯s back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised, they were the disciples of King Iligo after all," said Ivela.


    ¡°But that young man, King Iligo was also surprised at him," said Dios.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Ivela.


    ¡°When King Iligo left them, that young man, Cain, supposed to have no talent at magic at all.¡±


    ¡°And here he was, wrecked my sister¡¯s squad with techniques and magic strange to us,¡± said Bagulv, also curious about Cain. ¡°And from our handshake before, I can feel something very deep inside of him, like a bottomless ocean," Bagulv looked at his hand.


    ¡°Well, it''s a rough day for the Kingsmight as well. You should go back and rest," said Dios as he walked, leaving them.


    Dios stopped and turned to Ivela. ¡°Oh yeah, Ivela, you can use the Palace Guest Room for a while.¡±


    Because the West Base the place she lived in was in rubble, Ivela had no place to sleep. She could go to her family¡¯s house but it¡¯s too far.


    ¡°Okay! Thank you, Dios!¡±


    Dios nodded and left them.


    ¡°See you, brother," said Ivela to Bagulv.


    ¡°Yeah, night.¡±

 Chapter 11 - The Banished

    Cain explained what happened to Marion when he got back to the Inn. She did not shed a tear, but instead, Marion was more worried about him, but Cain said he was fine. He left with Lexa¡¯s body to Palvaran Orphanage that night.


    Aunt Germi collapsed after seeing Lexa¡¯s body. Cain tried to explain what happened while leaving gruesome details.


    When Cain said he was banished, she couldn''t accept that, but also grateful for he was not being executed.


    Cain rested in the living room. He laid down his body on an old couch. With all that had happened, he tried his best not to think about it. But, still, he could only fall asleep when the dawn was near.


    ¡­


    Late in the morning, Marion arrived at the orphanage to attend the funeral.


    Igo and Carals also came. Marion and Aunt Germi were surprised to see their King here, but they didn''t make a fuss about it. Only few were attending the funeral.


    Cain put Eagle¡¯s Talon next to Higa¡¯s tombstone. Then he sat cross-legged in front of the graves of his best friends.


    Igo gave some words, and end it with ¡°May their souls be embraced by the Goddess.¡±


    In the City Square of Aroum, Dios disclosed last night incident to the public without spilling crucial information about the Kingsmight, and declared that the culprit would be banished tomorrow. But he didn''t expose who exactly did it. He already investigated that Cain was quite known at Pama Market, thus if he exposed Cain as the culprit, he could see some of the Market residence would take questions. He really wanted to avoid such things.


    The West Pillars was already rebuilding, some of the workers were cleaning the rubble. The Capital¡¯s lively wasn''t gone with last night incident.


    Back to the hill in Barm forest. The funeral had ended. Carals were already gone, only Marion, Aunt Germi, Igo and Cain were still there. Cain was still sitting on the ground.


    ¡°I will wait at the orphanage, then we can go to the inn together," Marion tapped Cain¡¯s shoulder and left with Aunt Germi.


    Cain planned to stay at the inn before leaving Arozora, while taking care of Higa and Lexa¡¯s stuff there.


    Igo walked to the edge of the cliff. ¡°Be strong, Cain,¡± said Igo.


    Cain did not immediately respond to it. He just looked at the graves of his friends.


    ¡°... You know, today is the weirdest day of my life,¡± said Cain. ¡°I woke up this morning without Lexa¡¯s grumbling voice. And I ate breakfast without a piece of an eggshell in my fried egg that Higa used to serve specially for me,¡± Cain continued.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there,¡± said Igo while gazing at the scenery. ¡°When the Queen died, I was in a worse state than you. But I overcame it,¡± he turned to Cain. ¡°Will you?¡±


    ¡°... Yeah, it¡¯ll pass. I just can''t believe I¡¯ll leave Arozora without them.¡±


    ¡°You have your destination yet?¡± asked Igo.


    ¡°I don''t know¡­ probably Krevias.¡±


    Krevias was a Kingdom with a beautiful nature and a relaxing scenery. It¡¯s capital city, Hivelvaih, built in the center of Olren Lake. Krevias Kingdom was located south of Arozora. It took 2 weeks to reach it with carriage and another day to reach the Olren Lake.


    ¡°Krevias? Ah, I told you about it in the past, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep, Lexa said she wanted to see Olren Lake there one day. Maybe I should try its relaxing scenery myself,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I see, you should prepare for your journey then.¡±


    ¡°More like my exile," Cain laughed lightly.


    He already made a joke and laughed. Igo had a bit worried about him, but it seemed like it wasn''t needed.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave for Aroum City. Meet you tomorrow morning at the south gate,¡± Igo stood up followed by Cain.


    ¡°Wow! Iligo the Mighty himself gonna see me out! It¡¯s an honour, Your Majesty!¡± Cain slightly bowed.


    Igo hit Cain¡¯s head with a hand chop.


    ¡°Ouch! Why!?¡± Cain covered his head.


    ¡°Hahaha! Nothing! It¡¯s good to see you back to yourself!¡± Igo laughed so hard.


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± Igo turned around and left.


    ¡°Really, old man?¡± Cain shook his head and smiled. ¡°You don''t have to worry about me,¡± said Cain.


    Igo was already too far to hear that. But he smiled after that last sentence.


    In the afternoon, Cain emptied Lexa and Higa¡¯s room at the inn.


    He left most stuffs to Marion, to use or sell them. Except Lexa and Higa¡¯s book that had been given by Igo. Higa¡¯s book was filled with sketches, it''s his hobby. While Lexa¡¯s was filled with food recipes. Although Higa was the one that cooked at the inn, but it was Lexa who came up with the recipes. He took those books and their bracelets with him.


    Next day.


    After he said his farewell to Marion, Cain walked to the south gate, he wore a grey leather jacket. Bag on his back. He didn¡¯t bring much.


    At the gate, Igo, Carals, Dios and Aunt Germi were waiting for him. Two Kingsmight with a carriage also had been prepared to escort Cain to the outer post of Arozora.


    ¡°Woah! you guys are already here! Can''t wait to kick me out, eh?¡± Cain jokingly asked when he arrived at the gate.


    Aunt Germi suddenly hugged Cain.


    ¡°Be careful out there, okay?¡± She rubbed Cain¡¯s back.


    ¡°Don''t worry Auntie. Ah¡­ I¡¯ll miss you and the orphanage,¡± said Cain.


    Aunt Germi let him go.


    Then, Igo came towards him. ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll pay a visit or two to Palvaran,¡± he said. Igo could feel that Cain a bit worried about her.


    Cain nodded.


    ¡°Here. This will help you in your journey," Igo gave Cain a pair of gloves and a Valfikr Continent map.


    ¡°Farewell gift? Thanks, old man!¡± Cain smiled.


    ¡°Ahem! Don''t forget he¡¯s still your King," Bagulv interrupted them.


    ¡°Thank you too, Sir Bagulv," Cain replied with a carefree smile.


    Bagulv shook his head.


    ¡°This is from the Kingsmight who thinks that you should¡¯ve not been banished. And they acknowledged your strength,¡± said Ivela while handing a cloak made from high grade materials to Cain.


    ¡°Thank you! I prefer it''s from you though,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Hmm? Says the man who still owe me a dinner.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re impressed after all?¡±


    Cain was talking to Ivela when Dios whispered to Bagulv.


    ¡°You¡¯re fine with your sister being teased by him?¡± Dios grinned.


    ¡°She¡¯s kid no more, and looks like he isn¡¯t so bad either," said Bagulv in answer.


    Dios nodded, he seemed to agree.


    After Cain put his bag into the carriage, he turned around and bowed his head.


    ¡°Take care, old man!¡± He waved his hand as he hopped onto the carriage. The carriage slowly started moving.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird for a banished to have such farewell," said Dios.


    ¡°Well, he isn''t a criminal after all," Igo replied.


    ¡°True," Dios nodded.


    Igo and Dios chatted while watching the carriage getting farther away.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey, you guys are alright with me?¡± Cain asked the two Kingsmight members that was escorting him on the carriage, one of them was coaching the carriage, another one was sitting in front of Cain. Both of them men in their mid 30s.


    ¡°We are. In fact, we admire you, Master Cain.¡± said the one in front of Cain.


    ¡°Oh? I have fans!? And what¡¯s with this ¡°Master¡± anyway? Just Cain is fine.¡±


    The two Kingsmight were surprised, this young man was different from the man they saw two days before. This man was easy going and probably fun to talk to.


    ¡°... Ah, you are a disciple of our King, it¡¯s just a title fit for you. And I¡¯m sorry if it¡¯s too late, I¡¯m Dradia and he¡¯s Kaden.¡±


    Cain and Dradia hand shook while Kaden just waved his hand because he was handing the reins.


    ¡°Were. Just Cain is fine. Why are you my fans anyway?¡±


    ¡°We admire you because of what you¡¯ve done, Master Cain. Blazingly singlehanded seeking justice. And revealed Kingsmight¡¯s corruption," said Dradia.


    ¡°Not just us. Most of the Kingsmight admires you! We¡¯re your fans now!¡± Kaden laughed.


    ¡°Ahahah¡­ I see. And stop with ¡°Master¡±, really guys," Cain didn''t really know how to react to have people admired him.


    Dradia smiled and nodded.


    ¡°By the way, is Lady Caral always easy to talk to?¡± asked Cain. He recalled their talk before he left Arozora.


    ¡°You mean Vice Captain Ivela Caral? Yes, yes, she is always friendly to anyone," said Dradia.


    ¡°Not to the man who destroyed her base though," said Cain jokingly.


    ¡°Hahaha, but after we learned the truth, she¡¯s nice, right?¡± said Dradia.


    ¡°She is fun to talk to, wish we met under different circumstances," Cain shrugged.


    ¡°We, Kingsmight, always wondering what Vice Captain Ivela¡¯s preferences, because no one ever catches her eyes. She always smiles to anyone who talks with her," said Dradia.


    ¡°So many men tried to get close to her, but she¡¯s never really open to any of them. She¡¯s kinda mysterious. But that¡¯s also her charm I guess,¡± Kaden added.


    ¡°Is she? Hmm¡­ but I owe her dinner," said Cain.


    ¡°You owe her dinner!?¡± Dradia was shocked.


    ¡°Yeah, why you look so surprised?¡±


    ¡°Master Cai-!... Cain! As far as we know, Vice Captain Ivela never had any dinner with anyone before! Or accept any invitation!¡± said Dradia with a serious face.


    ¡°Huh!? Didn''t you say before, she is friendly to anyone?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she often eats with us, on the same table, same food. But she never has any dinner to a specific person!¡± said Dradia.


    Cain had grasped the situation, did he really blow his chance to get close to the Silver Rose of Arozora?


    ¡°Uhh¡­ then it¡¯s not really my luck I guess," Cain sighed.


    Dradia smiled, and put his hand on Cain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We, your fans, will always have your back, Cain. Perhaps, after your exile?¡±


    ¡°5 years? Pfff... maybe she is already married when I return from my exile,¡± Cain laughed.


    Dradia and Kaden also laughed.


    To reach the outer post, it would take two days. They rested at night at the inn in some villages. Their expenses were covered by the Kingdom.

 Chapter 12 - Marel Forest and Kingdom of Farferis

    They finally arrived at the outer post of Arozora. The sun was high, and the scenery was calm.


    ¡°Thank you, for escorting me, guys," said Cain.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Cain," Dradia nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s really surprising though, we thought you¡¯d be a man with few words. But on the trip, you proved us wrong," said Kaden.


    Cain smiled and shook their hands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, when I return, treat me your wife¡¯s cooking, Kaden," said Cain.


    ¡°Absolutely," Kaden hopped onto the carriage, followed by Dradia.


    ¡°Take care, Cain, though I know you will do just fine.¡±


    ¡°You too, Dradia.¡±


    ¡°Well then, off we go," said Kaden.


    ¡°Yeah, don''t forget to tell Lady Caral not to get married yet!¡± said Cain.


    Dradia and Kaden were laughing as the carriage started moving.


    Cain stood there for a moment.


    ¡°Goodbye Arozora¡­¡± he turned around and walked south.


    To reach Krevias, he had to pass through Marel Forest. A dense forest on Farferis Kingdom territory. South of Farferis, lay the Krevias Kingdom.


    If he were going on foot all the way to Krevias, it would take him one month to reach Krevias. Cain planned to take a few Hunter quests in Haneama, Farferis capital city, located right beside the forest, to save some money. He couldn¡¯t just waste the money he brought. Then he would go to Krevias.


    Cain entered the forest after two hours walk. He had no difficulty surviving in a forest filled with beasts. Igo taught him about hunting and such. But Igo was not the only teacher he had.


    The Book of Gomara taught him what Igo didn¡¯t. First half of the book was almost empty. On the revealed pages, not only magic and techniques filled it, but also knowledge. Lost knowledge and knowledge that had been discovered by Gomara himself.


    Cain walked in the forest while reading the Book of Gomara.


    He was looking for a poisonous flower called Hineru flower. In the common knowledge, Hineru flower used for a deadly poison. Assassins often used them. The petals from the flowers were grinded and brewed with its leaves. Whoever drank or got this on their wounds would meet their end only mere within 20 seconds.


    Hineru flower was rare because it couldn¡¯t be cultivated. And only fully bloomed had poison in it. While it only bloom at night, it would wither after 3 hours and lost its poisonous effect.


    But Cain wasn¡¯t searching that kind of rare flower. He¡¯s looking for young unbloomed Hineru flowers. While matured Hineru flowers were very rare, young Hineru flower was common in south of Valfikr and had no poison in it, or people thought.


    There was actually poison in its stem, if one knew how to handle it.


    ¡°That¡¯s the last one," Cain cut and collected some of the young Hineru stems. Then, he dried them in the sun for an hour, after that, the stems were soaked in his own saliva and blood, then he dried them again for an hour. This made Hineru stem poisonous, but not lethal, for him that was.


    In the Book of Gomara, young Hineru stem was the easiest way to have an absolute poison resistant body. Consume three stems each day for a week straight, one would have an absolute resistance body towards poison.


    The blood and saliva were used as a catalyst for the poison in the stems. So when the poison spread to Cain¡¯s veins, it won''t be considered as dangerous element by his body immune system. Instead, it would accumulate in his body as a poison countering substance.


    Although not lethal, consuming each stem would paralyze his body for one hour. So if he were to consume 3 stems everyday for a week, he would be paralyzed for 3 hours each day. Cain carefully timed its consumption.


    More than three stems a day would cripple him because even though there were the catalysts, having too much poison-processing at once would harm his organs.


    The Book of Gomara hinted him to get this ability as fast as he could. The book also taught him to never underestimate poison, and some techniques in the book also required the absolute poison resistance body as the prerequisite to learn some of the techniques.


    He also picked up a Balfet fruit, it was a good monster repellant if it processed correctly. Human couldn''t smell the fragrance, but beasts and animals tend to avoid this fruit because they could smell its fragrance. They didn''t like it.


    He put Balfet fruit near his camp. So no beasts that weren¡¯t afraid of bonfire would attack him when he was paralyzed.


    Regarding the native beasts of the forest, Cain was fascinated by the sight of the wild beasts he had never seen before. From a Two-Headed baboons that never ate the same food as its other head to a Giant Bullet Ants that was as big as a coconut.


    Cain hunted small animals like rabbit for his meal. He also didn''t neglect his training.


    ¡°(It¡¯s lonely, being out here alone,)¡± thought Cain, he felt lonely. Just a few days ago he wouldn¡¯t go anywhere without his best friends. But now, he was venturing the world all by himself. He sighed, all he could do now was move forward, without hesitation or regret. And just like Lexa said, live happily as always. He let out a smile, then continued his walk.


    After three days of living in Marel Forest while tracking his way to Farferis, Cain sensed humans aura near him.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    He carefully investigated it. And stumbled upon a man, cornered by three fully armed men.


    The cornered man wore fancy clothes, with a goggles hanging on his neck, while the armored men looked like knights with an emblem on their armor, Farferis Knight emblem.


    Cain knew about the emblem because Igo taught him about the Kingdoms of Valfikr.


    ¡°You¡¯ve nowhere to run, Calbot!¡± one of the knights pointed his spear at this cornered man called Calbot.


    ¡°Shit, come on! Do I have a problem with you, gentlemen?¡± Calbot looked around for an opportunity to escape.


    ¡°Your revolution will end with you, Calbot!¡± said the knight.


    Cain was watching this on a tree.


    ¡°Tsk, come on! It¡¯s a necessary revolution!¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°You will talk no more!¡± The knights were closing in.


    Seeing this, Cain was disgusted, how could those knights have no honor, attacking a defenseless man. Kingsmight corrupted members flashed on his mind.


    He jumped down and walked towards them.


    ¡°Yo, fellas! Something¡¯s going on in here?¡± Cain emerged from the bushes.


    ¡°Huh!?¡±


    ¡°Who are you!? Why I didn''t sense you coming!?¡±


    The knights were startled when they see Cain.


    ¡°Me? Oh, I¡¯m just a Hunter,¡± said Cain calmly.


    ¡°Hunter? Huh, move along then, this none of your business,¡± the knights dropped their guard after they heard he was a Hunter.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ what¡¯s this man problem then?¡± asked Cain


    ¡°This man is wanted by Farferis Kingdom. He¡¯s a criminal.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey! I¡¯m not a criminal!¡± denied Calbot.


    ¡°Silence! Or I will cut you down right now!¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait! Can you just take him back without killing him? You know, he¡¯s defenseless,¡± Cain tried to talk this out.


    ¡°Huh!? Scram Hunter! This is not your problem!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Hunter! Please talk to these gentlemen!¡± Calbot was still trying to find a chance to escape.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± one of the knights thrust his spear to Calbot.


    Cain reacted swiftly by kicking the knight¡¯s hand before the spear pierced Calbot. The spear fell to the ground.


    ¡°Guh!?¡± The knights were shocked, Cain suddenly stood between them and Calbot.


    ¡°You! You attacked the Knights of Farferis! Death awaits you!¡± the other two knights attacked Cain.


    Cain easily knocked them out.


    ¡°Sh-shit!¡± one knight ran away.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Hunter!¡± Calbot¡¯s face lost its worry.


    ¡°Yeah, goodbye,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Huh? Wait, wait!¡± Calbot stopped Cain that was about to leave.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± asked Calbot.


    ¡°Haneama,¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ I will not go there if I were you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    Calbot scratched his head. ¡°You see, you just attacked the Knights of Farferis. You¡¯re in the wanted list now.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and you just said you¡¯re a Hunter, they will freeze your permit for taking quests.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?"


    ¡°Nope," said Calbot.


    They both were silent for a moment.


    ¡°Whaaaatttt!? How can this be!?¡± Cain finally fully grasped the situation. ¡°So, I¡¯m a criminal to Farferis now!? Just like you!?¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not, if¡­ you follow me," suddenly, Calbot¡¯s tone became serious.


    ¡°Why should I follow you?¡± Cain was annoyed.


    ¡°Just follow me, besides, I have to reward you for saving my life.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? If I can get money from other than the Guild¡¯s quests¡­¡± Cain mumbled to himself. ¡°Fine. How about these two?¡± Cain talked about the two unconscious knights on the ground.


    ¡°Leave them be, c¡¯mon. My name is Calbot Han by the way.¡±


    ¡°Cain, just Cain.¡±


    They started walking to a different direction from the knight that fled.


    ¡°So, Cain, why did you decide to save me?¡± asked Calbot.


    ¡°I don''t know, my body was moving on its own.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re strong! You flat them out in just a second!¡±


    ¡°I was triggered when they attacked a defenseless man. Probably.¡±


    Calbot laughed. ¡°Where are you from?¡± asked Calbot.


    ¡°Palvaran.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Never heard of it, where is it?¡±


    ¡°North from here," Cain gave him vague details as he did not trust him yet.


    After two hours of walking. They arrived at a cave. They stopped at the entrance.


    ¡°Two people are aiming at me from the trees. Your friends?¡± asked Cain calmly.


    ¡°Yep. You¡¯re sharp, aren''t you?¡± Calbot made a hand sign sequence.


    Two archers jumped down from the trees. They bowed their heads to Calbot.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re a hotshot or something," said Cain after he saw the archers bowed to Calbot.


    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯ll know soon.¡±


    They entered the cave. It was a pitch black cave.


    ¡°Hold on to my shoulder and don''t make any sound," said Calbot while putting on the goggles on his neck.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Questions later," said Calbot.


    Cain did as he said. They walked into the pitch black cave. He couldn''t see anything, only their footsteps could be heard. Cain regretted he hadn''t mastered the Abyss Lurker yet, a technique from the Book of Gomara. A technique to see in the dark and blend with the shadow.


    Calbot was moving left and right. Like some sort of route. Cain could feel the cave was a natural maze.


    Finally after a few minutes of walking, they finally saw lights and found themselves outside of the cave.


    Cain squinted his eyes to adapt to the light.


    A big camp, bustling with armed people.


    ¡°Prince! You have returned!¡± a man came to them.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back," Calbot took off his goggles.


    ¡°Prince?¡± Cain was still squinting his eyes, he was looking at Calbot.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this young man, Prince Calbot?¡±


    ¡°This is Cain, a Hunter and my savior. He saved me when I was about to get pierced to the death by some knights.¡±


    ¡°You what!? Prince! You were trying to enter Haneama again!? You said you''d just take a look at their gate defenses!?¡±


    ¡°Chill, Jared. Cain, this is Jared, he and his knights are my personal bodyguards," said Calbot.


    The man called Jared shook his head and turned his attention to Cain.


    ¡°On behalf of the Sun Knight Order, I thank you for saving Prince Calbot," he slightly bowed.


    ¡°Prince? Sun Knight Order? And a camp that looks like an army? What the heck am I stepping into!?¡± Cain was no longer squinting his eyes.


    Jared weirdly looked at Prince Calbot.


    ¡°Ahah¡­ hahahah¡­¡± Calbot scratched his head. ¡°You must be tired Cain. Come to my tent. I¡¯ll answer your questions there," said he.


    ¡°Alright¡­ I wonder what other surprises you have on your tent," said Cain.


    ¡°Prince, are sure you can trust this man?¡± asked Jared.


    ¡°Yes, Jared, I trust him. Now, let''s go.¡±


    ¡°If you say so," he nodded.

 Chapter 13 - Prince Calbot

    They entered a big yellow tent. A beautiful woman in blue dress greeted them.


    ¡°Prince? You¡¯re back. All good?¡± she kissed Calbot in the cheek.


    ¡°Yeah, everything¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Not really, Meira, Prince Calbot would be dead if this young man did not save him," said Jared.


    ¡°Prince!? Is it true!?¡± her calm expression changed.


    ¡°Really, Jared? Must you make her worry?¡± said Calbot.


    Jared shrugged.


    ¡°Yes, something happened, but it¡¯s okay now, Meira. And this is my savior," Calbot reassured her and introduced Cain to the woman called Meira.


    ¡°I¡¯m Meira Frena, you can call me Meira. Thank you for saving Prince Calbot¡¯s life," Meira slightly bowed.


    When she bowed, Cain saw a chain like mark on her neck a bit. He couldn''t see it clearly because her dress covered her neck.


    ¡°I¡¯m Cain," he also bowed.


    ¡°Please take a seat Cain," Calbot invited Cain to sit, then he turned towards Meira. "Meira darling, please bring us something to drink and eat," said Calbot while smiling.


    Meira smiled and nodded, then she went outside the tent.


    They sat down in front of a wooden table.


    ¡°So, before you shoot us with your questions, I¡¯ll tell you this first," Calbot¡¯s tone became serious.


    ¡°I am the Prince of Farferis, Calbot Hanea. But, you can just call me Calbot, a privilege after saving my life," he smiled.


    ¡°Uh-huh," Cain frowned.


    ¡°You must be thinking, why the Prince was being chased by his own knights, yeah? Well that¡¯s because I¡¯m planning a revolution," Calbot continued.


    ¡°Revolution?¡± It tickled Cain¡¯s curiosity.


    ¡°Yes, as you know, Farferis Kingdom, has a slave system far before this Kingdom named Farferis," said Calbot.


    ¡°I¡¯m planning to erase the slave system from Farferis. But, somehow, my uncle, the current King of Farferis, found out about my plan, and declared me as a man who would harm this Kingdom¡¯s economy and security. Thus, here I am, being a ¡°criminal¡±,¡± he continued.


    ¡°Your uncle is the King?¡± asked Cain, he was a bit confused.


    ¡°Ahem! Let me answer that," Jared cleared his throat.


    ¡°The late King and Queen, prince Calbot¡¯s father and mother, died when the Prince was still five years old. So, his uncle, Termura Hanea took his father''s throne until he¡¯s ready for the crown. But when the Prince was ready in terms of age, Prince Calbot refused the throne himself because he didn''t like being a ruler. Then after a few years had passed, Prince Calbot planned for the revolution, he asked his rights of the throne. His uncle refused, and already bribed most of the nobles to back him up. Then he found out about the plan and you know the rest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ quite a story. You haven¡¯t told me why do you want to erase the slave system though,¡± Cain became serious too. "It''s not like I agree to slavery, but as far as I know, one of Farferis Kingdom main income is slave trade."


    Meira brought them food and drinks to the table. Then she sat beside Calbot.


    ¡°Have you seen Arozora Kingdom?¡± asked Calbot. ¡°It¡¯s prosperous without any slaves! Their equality among the citizens is what makes them become such a great Kingdom! When I retake the throne, I will make Farferis as great as Arozora! Even better!¡± Calbot¡¯s eyes were sparkling when he talked about Arozora.


    ¡°If the slave system is erased, then, I can finally marry her," Calbot held Meira¡¯s hand.


    ¡°You see, she is a slave, as long as the slave mark is still on her body, she can''t be a Queen," Calbot looked at Melia¡¯s eyes gently, Meira shyly smiled.


    ¡°A chain like mark I saw on your neck, Meira? Is that it?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Oh, quite an observer, aren¡¯t you? Yes it is," she revealed her neck a bit and showed her slave mark.


    ¡°I found her when she was being auctioned, it¡¯s love at first sight. So here she is, alas I can¡¯t do a thing to her slave mark," Calbot shrugged.


    Every slave marked with a slave mark, with this mark, they couldn''t disobey their masters. Slave mark was created with Spirit Soul Magic by a Marker, it couldn''t be erased by other magic, not even by their master who bought them, only the Marker could erase it.


    Usually the Marker was the seller of the slave. When someone bought a slave, the Marker transferred the slave mark command to them, the Marker lost his command on the slave but he still had the authority for the slave mark.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    There was only one way to be free from the slave mark, both master and the Marker must release the mark. If only one side released it, then the other who wasn''t would take full control of the slave. If only the master released it, then the Marker would regain his control over the slave. So if someone became a slave, it¡¯s almost impossible to be free again.


    If the Marker died, a portion of the mark would be erased. But only a fool who would try to kill a Marker, they were powerful magicians, they also usually had deep connections with nobles, so they were hard to deal with.


    Slave business was Farferis¡¯s pride. It¡¯s rare for the Marker to erase the slave mark unless it''s under the King¡¯s order. Only the King could freely order the Markers if they still wished to do business in his Kingdom.


    ¡°So¡­ in a nutshell, you want to become the King, so you can marry her?¡± said Cain after he summarized what he heard.


    ¡°...¡±


    All of them were silenced by Cain¡¯s question.


    ¡°Hahahah! You¡¯re so bold, Cain!¡± Calbot burst into laughter while Meira and Jared were holding their laughter.


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it!¡± Calbot wiped his laugh tears.


    ¡°That¡¯s great, good luck to you!¡± Cain gulped his drink.


    ¡°Now, this is the real question,¡± Calbot went back to his serious tone. ¡°Will you help us, Cain?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why do you need my help? You¡¯ve got a whole army out there. I don''t even know how you got your soldier," said Cain.


    Cain realized if Calbot was the Prince of Farferis, then he would have a deep pocket to hire some mercenaries. But what he saw there were no mercenaries, but knights.


    ¡°They¡¯re Sun Knight Order,¡± Calbot answered. ¡°They only answer to the true bloodline of the King, so they¡¯re following me out here. And you, I¡¯ve seen what you are capable of, you¡¯re probably on the same level with Jared here," Calbot looked at Jared.


    Jared frowned, he underestimated Cain. He thought he was just a simple Hunter passing by. But if Calbot himself said it, then he wasn''t a simple Hunter.


    ¡°Then, why don''t you just seize your capital with this Sun Knight Order?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°That was the plan, but if I can avoid such bloodshed, I better choose the peaceful way," said Calbot.


    ¡°There¡¯s another way?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I can''t tell you about that unless you agree to help us," Calbot crossed his fingers.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ how about the reward?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Spoke like a true Hunter, I see," Jared smirked.


    Jared meant the Hunters usually took some quests because of how high the reward was.


    ¡°Not really, I only need sufficient amount enough to cover my journey," Cain dismissed the notion that he was only after the reward.


    ¡°You don''t have to worry about the reward, Cain. If you help me seize back the throne, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯ll be one of the richest men in Farferis,¡± Calbot answered the question.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain closed his eyes, thinking. Then he looked at Calbot and Meira that were waiting for his answer.


    A glimpse of Lexa and Higa flashed when he saw the couple.


    ¡°............. Fine, I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡°Really!? Thank you, Cain!¡± relieved expressions were glued on Calbot and Meira¡¯s face.


    ¡°Well, as long as your goal isn''t bad, I¡¯ll be happy to help. Moreover, it¡¯s to erase the slavery, which is good. I believe in equality after all," said Cain.


    Cain didn''t tell them about his personal reason, the glimpse of his best friends when he saw Calbot and Meira.


    Jared nodded, he was perfectly agreed with Cain¡¯s words.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve secured Cain¡¯s help. Let''s eat first, we¡¯ll talk about the plan after that!¡± Calbot raised his cup.


    They had a feast in the tent. After that, Cain was escorted to a tent for his stay.


    At night, he was called by Calbot to his tent to prepare for the plan.


    When Cain entered the tent, Calbot, Jared and Meira were already there. Cain sat on the empty chair.


    ¡°Okay, Cain, are you familiar with the history of Farferis?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ yeah a bit. Farferis is¡­ quite famous for their bloody way to fight for the throne," Cain answered Jared¡¯s question.


    Farferis was quite dark among the Kingdoms in the continent. Not from their people¡¯s welfare, but from the royal family fighting for the throne. Brother killed brother, sister conspiracy, assassin or poison, and such.


    ¡°Indeed, but, what if my ancestors foresee this and have prepared a countermeasure?¡± Calbot rubbed his thin beard.


    ¡°Then, shouldn¡¯t you be on the throne already? Unless this countermeasure¡­ hmm¡­ I don''t know," Cain was curious for this ¡°countermeasure¡±.


    Jared rolled out a map on the table.


    ¡°There¡¯s a legend in our Kingdom. A sacred place of our ancestors, northeast from here,¡± Calbot tapped a temple like drawing on the map with his finger. ¡°This is Hanearian¡¯s Rest. Our ancestors built this place to counter such condition if it were to happen," said he.


    Calbot opened a book that had an emblem on its lustrous cover, the same emblem Cain saw on the Farferis Knight''s armor.


    ¡°There¡¯s an item there. Called the Staff of Mgre. It says that the true bloodline of Hanea can restore his rights if he brings the staff to the throne. When the throne and the staff were reunited, the bringer of the staff will be bestowed upon the power of Willbender,¡± Calbot read it from the book.


    ¡°Power of Willbender?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Yeah, any Hanean would bend to the will of the staff bearer according to this family treasure and history book," Calbot replied.


    ¡°Won¡¯t your uncle already know about this, or even your great great grandfather?¡±


    ¡°Hahah! My uncle is the one who told me this when I was a kid! And if he had it, I¡¯m sure I would be dead by now. As for my great grandfather, he is one of those legend chaser maniacs. He almost made history for himself. When he found himself at a dead end in the Hanearian¡¯s Rest, he tried to make hole in the wall, yeah he found a secret path. But endless undead skeletons came out from the hole he made. Even today, that place became their lair. After that, no one dared to set foot there.¡±


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Cain listened intently to Calbot¡¯s story.


    ¡°Now, I have spilled the beans. I¡¯m requesting your assistance to retrieve the staff, Cain.¡±


    ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll help you to find that staff!¡± said Cain right away.


    ¡°Great!¡± said Calbot.


    Seeing Cain¡¯s enthusiasm made Calbot very delighted. As for Cain, this was his first treasure hunting, there¡¯s no way he could hide his excitement.


    ¡°Then, we will depart tomorrow morning, you should rest, Cain," Calbot continued.


    They closed the meeting, and went to their respective tent. Cain went to a secluded place and consumed three Hineru stems. After he was freed from the paralyze, he slept in his tent.

 Chapter 14 - Hanearian鈥檚 Rest

    Early in the morning, Cain, Calbot, Jared and a dozen knights of Sun Knight Order departed for Hanearian¡¯s Rest. They only brought a dozen of knights to easily avoid the beasts on their way and to make the trip faster. Also, they were the finest of the Order.


    When the group arrived at the temple area, it was already dark, only moonlight gave them a faint vision. They made a stop at the trees near the temple area. Then, two men with light armor came to the group.


    ¡°Sir, reporting!¡±


    Jared nodded. They were scouts that Jared sent ahead.


    ¡°We¡¯ve scouted the entire area of the temple. Like it has always been, it¡¯s manifested with beasts. From low to medium danger category beasts are spotted. Such as Twisted Horn Rhinos and Rednight Locust," said the scout.


    ¡°Any sign of undead skeletons?¡± asked Jared. Jared only worry was the undead skeletons, because their numbers wouldn''t decreased even after they cut down so many of them when they tried to recapture the temple in the past.


    ¡°None sir, we only found beasts prowling in the temple yard.¡±


    ¡°That means they never step out of the temple, huh," Jared speculated.


    There were many attempts to retake the temple, but they never succeed because the endless undead skeletons would attack anything that entered the temple. But what odd enough was that the skeletons never went outside the temple, like they were just guarding it.


    ¡°Alright, We will deal with the beasts first. Prince, you stay here with some of the knights. The rest, come with me to slay those beasts," said Jared.


    ¡°You ready?¡± Jared looked at Cain.


    Cain nodded confidently.


    With Jared¡¯s hand signal, an archer shot up a flare arrow to the sky. When the flare lit up the dark sky, all the beasts'' eyes were on it.


    Then, the second arrow flew up to the flare. It blew into a blinding light when it reached the flare¡¯s high. Whoever or whatever saw the flare would get flashbanged by the light.


    ¡°Now! Charge!¡±


    With Jared¡¯s command, the knights emerged from the bushes. They rushed to attack the beasts.


    Most of the beasts helplessly took the blows because they couldn¡¯t see after they saw the flash in the sky.


    Few of them were immune to the light because they had no eyes, such as Short Legged Giant Ant.


    But even they were no match against a coordinated attack from the finest of Sun Knight Order.


    Cain got his share of taking down some beasts with a sword he borrowed from the knights.


    When Jared glanced at Cain, he realized Cain''s swordsmanship was incredible.


    The assault ended quickly with many beasts were slain or fled from the area.


    They regrouped in front of the temple entrance.


    The temple was old, molds were everywhere. Thorny vines entwined some of the crumbled pillars.


    ¡°No one¡¯s hurt? Good, because that was warming up, fellas!¡± Jared proudly pounded his chest.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± the knights raised their weapons.


    Two knights came out from the bushes with Calbot.


    ¡°Good job, knights!¡± Calbot walked to them. ¡°Come, let''s not waste our time," he said.


    Jared nodded.


    They entered the Temple of Hanearian¡¯s Rest. Two of the knights were ordered to burn the bodies of the beasts, so the smell of blood won''t attract other beasts. They also stood watch at the entrance if something were to happen.


    Inside the temple, they walked on a narrow corridor, Jared and Cain were on point, while Calbot was in the middle among the knights. They brought some crystal torches to navigate their way in the dark. They also reburned the torches on the wall. Clearly this temple was built before the lumines crystal was discovered.


    Cain¡¯s face filled with excitement, this was the kind of adventure he always dreamed of.


    ¡°You seem to enjoy this?¡± Jared asked Cain while being careful on what''s ahead.


    ¡°I am! This is fun!¡± Cain smiled. ¡°Oh yeah, by the way, is it wise to leave Meira at the camp?¡± Cain a bit worried, they wouldn¡¯t know when the Knights of Farferis might sniff out their hiding place.


    ¡°No worries, Sun Knight Order is the finest knights in Farferis, just like the infamous Arozora¡¯s Kingsmight! Though I can say, if we were to compete between the two, Kingsmight would trample us, The Silvers are monsters after all," Jared smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Besides, we have a natural defense system outside the camp anyway, those Farferis knights won''t be able to get through it," Jared added.


    ¡°Huh? You mean that pitch black cave?¡±


    ¡°Correct, there are actually beasts dwelling that cave, Terrapede," said Jared.


    ¡°Ah! Now that makes sense!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Do you know about Terrapede?¡±


    Cain nodded.


    Terrapede was a pitch black cave dweller beast. Coming from a rare family of giant centipede species, its length was about 5 meters long with two pairs of legs per body segment. It hunted anything that came into their cave. They were vicious beasts that would stab their prey in the back with their big razor sharp fangs. They were very proficient at hit and run tactics, they hit their prey quick and hard then they went back into hiding and did it again until its prey was dead.


    Terrapede hunted from the sound of their prey, but that was also their weakness. If the sound they heard was constant, like footsteps. They won''t react. If it¡¯s an inconsistent voice, like talking, they would mercilessly hunt the source of the voice.


    Of course Cain got this information from the Book of Gomara. But he kind of forgot until Jared mentioned Terrapede.


    Jared was impressed at Cain¡¯s knowledge. He did not think this young man would be knowledgeable about rare beasts.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Cain suddenly stopped the group¡¯s movement.


    Jared also realized what''s ahead. He signaled his men to move slower and quieter.


    They reached into a great hall. Some of the ceilings were collapsed. Moonlight made its entrance by the hole, illuminating a portion of the hall.


    As expected, enormous amount of undead skeletons were swarming the place, they armed with different kinds of weapons. They hadn''t noticed the group yet.


    Jared scanned the area, looking for the hole Calbot¡¯s great grandfather made. He found it fast, because the hole was quite large and the moonlight illuminated half of the hole. About 3 meters tall and 6 meters wide. Undead skeletons were concentrated around there.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°It became a tunnel! I believe it''s not as wide as that before! Must be because of the skels!¡± Jared clicked his tongue.


    Jared looked behind at Calbot. The Prince nodded in response.


    ¡°Prepare our battle formation, we will move slowly towards the tunnel while defending. I¡¯ll be the spearhead. Cain, can I trust you to guard the rear ranks?¡± Jared unsheathed his greatsword from his back.


    ¡°No problem," Cain nodded.


    One of the female knights cast a Spirit Beast magic, she summoned a Yellowback Great Bear. The bear was about 2.5 meters tall on four legs. Then it stood on two legs and roared. A loud voice echoed in the hall.


    The undead skeletons were alerted with the intruder presence. They were moving towards the bear.


    ¡°Advance!¡± With Jared¡¯s loud voice, the group started to move towards the tunnel.


    Undead skeletons attacked the Yellowback Great Bear only to be blown back by its front leg sweep. The skeletons were also attacking the group. They easily fend off the attacks while moving.


    The Yellowback Great Bear presence really helped the group by a lot, it became the target by most undead skeletons. The summoner went with the group, because she would just become a burden against that many undead skeletons if she were to stay behind with the bear.


    When the group almost reached the tunnel, more skeletons appeared from the tunnel.


    Two knights took point with their tower shields. They used Moving Rook technique. They dashed forward instantly to the tunnel, any skeletons along the way were crushed by the shields.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The group hurriedly catch up with the two knights at the tunnel while maintaining their formation.


    Undead skeleton didn''t have any combat abilities to pose a threat. Their number did the action instead.


    When the group reached the tunnel. Jared took the point again and swung his greatsword. With one swing, countless skeletons in front of him were crushed to pieces.


    One of the knights cast a fire magic. Three flame balls were floating in front, middle and rear ranks, so they could see clearly ahead without having to rely on the crystal torches because now they had to focus their hands on their weapons and magic rather than to hold torches.


    With this, they entered the tunnel. Because the tunnel was getting wider as they ventured deeper, Jared could easily swing his greatsword without worrying it would get stuck.


    Cain also fended off the skeletons from the rear ranks, but their numbers were already few because the Yellowback Great Bear held its ground at the tunnel entrance.


    ¡°Hey! There!¡± Calbot saw a light at the end of the tunnel.


    With Calbot¡¯s discovery, they sped up the pace.


    When the group got out from the tunnel, they found themselves in a huge room with a structure like it was an isolated part of the temple. This room was also filled with undead skeletons.


    In the corner of the room, Hanea¡¯s family crest was painted on the wall. Below it, there¡¯s an altar with a skeleton lying on it. That skeleton was full of dust and cobwebs. It seemed more ¡°dead¡± than the other skeletons. What¡¯s more, it was holding something, a staff.


    The staff was as long as a full grown man, with a blue jewel on its tip, and some runes on the grip.


    Strangely, there were two torches that were already burning with blue flame on the wall above the altar.


    ¡°Is that!?¡± Calbot squinted his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s the staff!? Prince!?¡± Jared shouted while handling the skeletons.


    ¡°Looks like it! It¡¯s real!¡± Cain also got excited.


    The knights also got excited, seeing the legend was true.


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°Look!¡± one of the knights pointed at the ground far from the altar.


    The skeletons were emerging from a rune circle on the ground.


    ¡°That¡¯s where the skeletons came from! But how? There¡¯s no magic trace in here!¡± said the knight.


    Usually, when summoning magic was performed, there would be magic aura or traces of it. But there was none in the room.


    ¡°Doesn''t matter! We have to stop it!¡± Cain stepped up to the front.


    Then, suddenly the ground trembled with a terrible roar.


    ¡°Wha-what was that!¡± Calbot was holding onto one of the knights to keep his balance.


    When the roar and tremor had stopped, the undead skeletons became more aggressive. They moved faster and fiercer.


    ¡°Guh!? This is!?¡± Jared parried the skeletons attacks. Their attacks got heavier.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the skeletons on the emerging ground! You guys should get the staff!¡± said Cain. He leaped through the swarm of the skeletons, then made his way to the skeleton emerging ground.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± he just leaped like that!?¡± said one of the knights.


    Cain swung his sword skillfully while dodging. His speed on cutting down the skeletons reduced their number greatly.


    Calbot¡¯s group was also steadily moving towards the staff while dealing with the skeletons.


    Cain arrived at the rune circle. ¡°(Now, how do I stop it?)¡± thought Cain.


    Another roar made the ground trembled. The skeletons movement were stopped with that roar. Then, after the roar was gone, the skeletons were moving towards into one direction, where Cain held his ground.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Cain realized the skeletons were gathering into him.


    ¡°Hey! This is a good chance! Grab that staff!¡± Cain shouted while slashing the neverending skeletons.


    Jared nodded. ¡°Prince! let''s go!¡±


    The group took the chance to rush towards the staff.


    Cain cut down the skeletons and held his ground. But not his sword, the sword was getting more cracks by each slash.


    Knowing his sword was already at its limit, Cain took a stance, he held his sword downward with two hands, a small flame snake appeared from the sword¡¯s hilt and entwined the blade.


    Cain pierced the ground with the enveloped flame snake sword to the ground. Then, an explosion made the room trembled. Some ceilings even crumbled. Skeletons around Cain had been reduced to ashes. A giant serpent silhouette also appeared in the dust.


    Because of the explosion, the Sun Knight Order looked over Cain¡¯s direction. Seeing the silhouette, they were astonished. Spirit Beast magic was a very rare talent after all. Now, Jared was more convinced of what Calbot said, Cain was strong. Beside his top tier swordsmanship, he had a Spirit Beast magic!


    The knights shifted their attention back to the staff, they shouldn''t prolong this battle after all by dividing their focus.


    When the dust cleared, The rune circle on the ground had been destroyed.


    The serpent revealed its form, a 10 meters long and huge serpent that was enveloped by burning flame. Cain stood beside it, his hands were on his knees, gasping for air. He seemed out of breath.


    Cain didn''t use a Spirit Beast magic, he used a long lost Elemental Spirit magic from the Book, the Northfire Serpent Spirit.


    Spirit Beast magic didn''t take toll on the body of the beast¡¯s owner because they were different entity. It had its own energy. On the opposite, Elemental Spirit magic took heavy toll on the caster, because to summon an Elemental Spirit, it had to borrow the caster¡¯s energy, and they were draining the energy from the caster as long as it''s being summoned.


    This was the first time Cain used the Elemental Spirit magic. His body felt so heavy, like days without rest and food. The book warned him to have a proper preparation. Clearly he underestimated the toll.


    Cain looked around, skeletons around him were gone.


    ¡°Haah¡­ haah¡­ go," Cain ordered the Northfire Serpent to destroy the remaining skeletons in the room. Their number had been greatly reduced because of the explosion.


    But the Northfire Serpent was only intensely staring at Cain. It looked at its own body then at Cain again.


    Then it spoke with an imperious hissing tone.


    ¡°Pathetic! Look at you! You¡¯re not even sssstanding properly after you sssssummoned me! And what¡¯sss thissss tiny body your energy sshaped me asssss!? Tiny little sssnake! Me!? The greatessst of all sserpentesss! You¡¯re not fit to command me!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wha-what?¡± Cain was confused, he never thought the Elemental Spirit could speak like that .


    With a long hiss, Northfire Serpent dived into Cain, attacking him.


    "Crap!" Cain dodged by rolling his body away from the Northfire Serpent.


    The Northfire Serpent crashed to the ground and turned into a blazing fire then vanished.


    ¡°That¡¯s why the word ¡®properly prepared¡¯ is underlined on the book! I can''t believe it attacked me¡­ damn!¡± Cain clenched his fist.


    That moment, Cain realized he was not strong enough to handle the Elemental Spirit. Not only he underestimated the heavy toll of summoning the Elemental Spirit, but he also overestimated his own capabilities.


    He got up and dusted off his clothes.


    He saw Jared¡¯s group was already on the altar. Thankfully this happened while they were busy with the staff, so they didn''t see what happened.


    ¡°Ugh! Why this staff won''t budge!¡± Calbot was trying to take the Staff of Mgre from the skeleton on the altar, but he made no progress at all.


    ¡°You guys help the Prince!¡± Jared swung his greatsword to fend off the skeletons.


    The knights helped Calbot, but the result was nil.


    When Cain was about to go to the altar, suddenly a wide rune circle appeared directly under him. Then a huge skeleton hand made of rough shaped bones emerged from the circle and grabbed his entire left leg.


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°What a big-!¡±


    The ground where the skeleton hand emerged was cracking and spreading fast. Then, the ground crumbled, about 10 meters radius. Cain fell and he was pulled down by the skeleton hand into the darkness below.


    Because there were still many skeletons remained between him and Sun Knight Order. His fall wasn''t noticed by the knights.

 Chapter 15 - BECAUSE I TOLD THEM SO

    ¡°Damn! Why is this thing won''t come off!¡± Calbot was still trying to take the staff when the remaining skeletons got more aggressive again. The knights were guarding him from every side.


    Jared was still busy with the skeletons. Also, the skeletons emerged from another location, filling the room fast.


    ¡°Prince! We will hold them off as long as we can! You should focus on the staff!¡± one of the knights was holding multiple skeletons at once.


    ¡°Of course! We¡¯ve come this far! There''s no way I''ll be going home empty handed!¡± Calbot won''t give up the staff.


    Below them, Cain landed safely from the height. The huge skeleton hand released his leg when he was still in mid air.


    The place where he landed was dark. When Cain walked a few steps, Some of blue fireballs lit up on the wall. Revealing another spacious hall. But the feel was different from the room above.


    ¡°Where am I?¡±


    The wall here was different from the wall in the temple above, it appeared to be made of high grade materials with artistic engravings on it. The builder clearly knew what he was doing.


    Cain was amazed by what he saw. The blue fireballs were beautifully floating along the wall. The engravings shone when illuminated by the fireballs. There were pillars with a strange shape. There were also weapons hanging on the wall.


    Strangely, no Hanea¡¯s family crest in this hall.


    Cain stopped his step when he saw a skeleton stood there. But it just stood there and looked at Cain with its empty eye socket.


    Two more blue fireballs lit up, revealing an army of skeletons with vast number.


    ¡°So this is where the skeletons came from? But why are they just standing there?¡±


    ¡°BECAUSE I TOLD THEM SO.¡±


    A loud heavy voice replied to Cain followed by a trembling footsteps.


    The skeletons moved away, giving a path to what was coming from behind.


    Two blue fiery eyes could be seen. The eyes were high. Judging from the footstep sound that made the ground trembling, Cain knew it was no ordinary creature.


    Finally, the creature walked into Cain¡¯s vision. It was an enormous skeleton, it stood with its lower half made of four-legged beast bones while its upper half appeared to be humanoid bones, plus horns on its skull. With its height that about 12 meters tall, anyone would be intimidated by its presence and aura.


    But not for Cain, he stood there without any fear on his eyes. Instead, he was fascinated.


    ¡°MOST CREATURES WOULD BOW DOWN OR FLEE WHEN THEY SEE ME," said the creature. It crossed his two hands on its breastbone.


    ¡°Who are you? Or rather, what are you?¡± Cain calmly replied. This creature seemed to have a soul within, unlike the undead skeletons.


    The creature stared at Cain.


    ¡°I SEE NO FEAR IN YOU, FLESHBEARER. I AM DELMOURGA, THE LORD OF MYSTICBONE.¡±


    ¡°Delmourga? Mysticbone? Are you Hanean?¡±


    ¡°YOU CAME HERE TO TALK, FLESHBEARER?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ no, I just fell here, we are trying to take a staff above.¡±


    ¡°THIS IS MY DOMAIN, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO TAKE ANYTHING! UNLESS YOU CAN PASS MY CHALLENGE!¡±


    ¡°Challenge?¡± asked Cain.


    Delmourga took the pillars with his hands, and swung them around. Wind blew over the hall with the swings.


    That moment Cain realized, those were not pillars, but huge spears fit for Delmourga.


    With a spear in each hand, he pointed one spear at Cain.


    ¡°THIS IS THE CHALLENGE! BEST ME, AND YOU SHALL TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT FROM HERE!¡±


    ¡°I have to beat you so Calbot can take the staff? Alright, I¡¯ll take you on!¡±


    This was Cain¡¯s first time fighting a creature like this, right from his first treasure hunting. Instead of being intimidated, he was rather excited. Even with his fatigue after he summoned the Northfire Serpent.


    ¡°GOOD! YOU CAN USE ANY WEAPONS FROM HERE!¡±


    Cain took a large sword from the wall. Although the sword was dusty, it was still in its peak condition.


    ¡°IT¡¯S BEEN THOUSANDS YEARS SINCE SOMEONE WALKED INTO MY HALL! ENTERTAIN ME, FLESHBEARER!¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    With a trembling roar, Delmourga cast a spell on his spears, the sharp edge of both spears were enveloped by blue flames.


    Delmourga raised his spears and swung them down at Cain.


    Cain dodged sideways, the ground was crushed by the spear. Cain got close to Delmourga¡¯s left front leg.


    ¡°Heaaaahhh!!!¡± Cain swung his sword horizontally and hit Delmourga¡¯s leg.


    The sword was bounced back. The place he hit didn''t even had a scratch on it.


    A spear came towards him from his left side. Because of the recoil after hitting the leg, he was too late to react to the incoming spear.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Cain desperately swung his sword with both hands.


    When his sword hit the spear, the spear was deflected to a different direction.


    Cain held his ground and took a stance to prepare for another follow up attacks by Delmourga.


    But Delmourga stopped his attack.


    ¡°YOU DEFLECTED MY ATTACK, FLESHBEARER? INTERESTING!¡±


    ¡°Heh, said the one who deflected my attack first without doing anything!¡±


    That attack might kill even a prepared fighter, but that kind of attack was what Cain received every day in his training days with Igo.


    Cain looked at the sword. Amazingly the sword was still in good shape, despite after those two hard blows. Ordinary sword like the sword from the Sun Knight Order would had cracks here and there.


    He¡¯s more convinced that this place had nothing to do with Hanean¡¯s Rest. Or this place was more ancient than he thought.


    ¡°Hey, Delmourga! Is this place also part of the temple above?¡±


    ¡°AGAIN WITH WORDS? FINE, BECAUSE YOU MANAGED TO DEFLECT MY ATTACK.¡±


    ¡°THE ANSWER IS NO, THOUGH THERE WERE SOME COMMOTION DECADES AGO. WHEN I SENT MY SKELS, THEY ALREADY BUILT SOMETHING ABOVE MY HALL. THAT¡¯S WHY I TOOK CONTROL OF THAT PLACE. ALSO, MY JAW IS TIRED!¡±


    Delmourga thrust his spear.


    Again, Cain deflected the spear. And he rushed towards the left leg again.


    ¡°Let''s see if this weapon survive!¡±


    Cain held his sword with both hands, then, with a short leap he unleashed a heavy upward slash at Delmourga¡¯s left leg.


    The force of the swing made Delmourga¡¯s left leg stumbled backward.


    Cain used Giant¡¯s Swing, a technique from the Book of Gomara that would push immovable objects backwards as long as the target was heavier than the skill user.


    ¡°It survived!¡± Cain glanced at the sword.


    ¡°HUH!?¡± Delmourga didn''t expect his foot would get pushed back.


    Cain swung another heavy slash to the leg. This time, it was Tigra Fang, a slashing technique. He slashed on the same spot. When the sword hit Delmourga¡¯s left leg, it broke to pieces, but a crack also appeared on Delmourga¡¯s left leg.


    Cain quickly let the sword go and rushed to the wall, to take another weapon.


    But Delmourga didn''t just stood there waiting for another attack from Cain. He threw one of his spears at Cain.


    Cain dodged the flying spear. It hit and broke down the wall, the hanging weapons fell down to the ground. Dust rose up around there. Then, Cain ran out through the dust but another spear was heading at him. His body was sliced by the spear, but he turned into flame and vanished. The spear broke down another wall.


    ¡°HUH! CHEAP TRICK!¡±


    Delmourga raised his two front legs and stomped the ground.


    The ground was shaking, and the shockwave blew the dust.


    As the dust cleared, Cain stood there with a sword in each hand.


    He had to use the weapons well, because the weapons here clearly didn''t go break immediately after he used one of Gomara¡¯s techniques.


    "(Thousand years smithy product was no joke!) thought Cain.


    ¡°COME, FLESHBEARER! SHOW ME WHAT YOU¡¯VE GOT!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Damn! These skeletons are endless!¡±


    Jared already took down hundreds of the skeletons. His armor had seen better days. But he¡¯s far from tired. He was still swinging perfectly fine.


    ¡°Where is Cain!? I didn''t see him after the explosion!¡± Calbot wiped his forehead.


    ¡°Prince! There¡¯s a hole from where Cain was! I¡¯m afraid he fell!¡± one of the knights pointed into the hole direction.


    ¡°What!?... But there are more of tremors and roars since then! Probably he is fighting the source down there!¡± Calbot didn¡¯t want to believe Cain would just die from falling. Besides, the tremors and roars were getting frequent meant something must have happened.


    Calbot guessed right.


    Dozens of broken weapons were scattered around the hall far below them.


    Cain¡¯s clothes had thorn here and there. Panting, fatigue was seen on his face. But despite of that, he¡¯s smiling.


    Delmourga was not in good shape either, small and wide cracks covered his bones. But as an undead creature, fatigue did not mean a thing for Delmourga.


    ¡°KHUHUHU, FUN ISN''T IT? FIGHTING TO YOUR HEART''S CONTENT!¡± YOUR FACE IS TELLING ME THAT!¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Cain laughed. ¡°By the way, what''s this place name?¡±


    ¡°AS A GIFT BECAUSE YOU HAVE SURVIVED UP UNTIL NOW, THIS HALL¡¯S NAME WILL BE REVEALED TO YOU, FLESHBEARER! THIS PLACE IS CALLED MYSTICLORD BONEHALL!¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ but, if it''s called ¡®Bonehall¡¯, why it isn''t made from bones? And my name is Cain by the way.¡±


    ¡°FOOLISH QUESTION! DO YOU FLESHBEARER BUILD YOUR HOME FROM FLESH? I DON¡¯T THINK SO! AND YOU ONLY HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO TELL YOUR NAME WHEN YOU BEST ME, FLESHBEARER! AS THE CHALLENGED, I DON''T HAVE TIME TO LEARN THE NAME SOMEONE I WILL CRUSH!¡±


    With a roar, blue flames were blazing out from Delmourga¡¯s bones. Then the skeletons that just stood there were starting to run towards Delmourga. The skeletons were covering the cracks on Delmourga¡¯s bones with their body, then the blue flames melted them, filled up the crack.


    In an instant, Delmourga¡¯s body healed up, no more cracks were seen.


    ¡°NOW, FLESHBEARER! THIS IS THE TIME TO END YOU!¡±


    ¡°Damn! That''s cheating!¡± said Cain.


    Delmourga took his spears that pierced the wall.


    ¡°TAKE YOUR WEAPONS, FLESHBEARER! IT IS A BAD TASTE TO CUT YOU DOWN IF YOU¡¯RE DEFENSELESS!¡±


    ¡°You don''t need to tell me that," replied Cain.


    Cain inhaled a deep breath, and exhaled it slowly. Then, with eyes closed, he raised his hands.


    Pebbles started to float around him with a small scale of tremor.


    A huge pair of stone hands appeared from thin air above him. The stone hands were bigger than Delmourga¡¯s bone hand.


    The hands did a fist bump to each other, mimicking Cain¡¯s gesture as he opened his eyes.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m ready to take you down!¡±

 Chapter 16 - Earth Magic of Gomara

    ¡°YOU STILL HAVE THAT MUCH POWER ON YOUR SLEEVE? INTERESTING!¡± Delmourga was amazed by Cain¡¯s show of power.


    Cain used an earth magic, Marlork¡¯s Hands.


    Marlork¡¯s Hands magic was an earth magic from the Book of Gomara. In the ancient times, Marlork was a savage beast with a gigantic body, it often destroyed villages and towns. When hero Gomara appeared, he slew Marlork and made its power his own by converging his hands with earth magic.


    Cain was sweating a lot. He was pushing his limit to use some of high magic in a single day. For a talentless in magic like him, it was extraordinary.


    ¡°Here I come!!¡±


    Cain jumped into the air, he threw a punch at Delmourga¡¯s face. He hit Delmourga¡¯s jaw with a power that forced Delmourga to take steps backwards. The punch broke Delmourga¡¯s jaw in half.


    ¡°RRAAAAAH!!¡±


    Delmourga countered with a heavy horizontal swing when Cain landed.


    Cain put guard up with one of Marklork¡¯s hands. But he was thrown when the spear hit him.


    He was thrown not too far, Marlork¡¯s hand dampened most of the force. He safely landed with a dive roll and stood back.


    ¡°(Damn! His power rose up!?)¡± what Cain had on his mind now.


    ¡°HAHAHAH! YOU THOUGHT YOU¡¯RE THE ONLY ONE WHO¡¯S POWERED UP, HUH?¡±


    ¡°Clearly I was wrong!¡± said Cain. ¡°(Luckily I decided to use Marlork¡¯s Hands! If I were to defend with those weapons, I¡¯m sure I would have a fatal wound right now!)¡± thought he.


    Delmourga¡¯s swing got heavier after he healed.


    ¡°HMM¡­ THOSE STONE HANDS¡­¡± Delmourga paused a bit. ¡°HAHAHA! YOU HAVE SURPRISED ME EVEN MORE, FLESHBEARER!¡±


    Delmourga realized those stone hands were not ordinary magic. He could break down the hall¡¯s wall with his spear, yet the stone hands that he just hit were still in one piece.


    Cain just grinned, So did Delmourga, with his half broken jaw.


    They were staring at each other''s eyes.


    Then, Cain with a dash and Delmourga with a leap, they clashed again.


    Delmourga thrust one of his spears, while Cain threw a punch. When they collided, a shockwave with a loud voice shook the area around them.


    Not stopping the momentum, Cain threw more punches, Delmourga responded with swings and thrusts.


    Cain spun with Backhand Punch and Delmourga leaned with Double Cross Slash. They kept unleashing moves after moves.


    Each time the hands and the spears clashed, the shockwave and the voice echoed in the hall.


    ¡°You heard that, Jared!?¡± said Calbot, who was still trying to take the staff.


    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s from below us! Must be Cain!¡± said Jared. ¡°You heard that Sun Knights!? He¡¯s also fighting down there! We! Cannot! Lose here!¡± Jared shouted after he threw two undead skeletons with his bare hands.


    ¡°Uwooo!¡± The knights got pumped up with Jared¡¯s shout. They were still holding their ground for Calbot.


    ...


    After minutes of clash, Cain was finally starting to lose some power and speed. The fatigue caught up to him.


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE GETTING SLOWER, FLESHBEARER!¡±


    ¡°Damn you, undead! You and your unlimited stamina!¡± said Cain, though he was still grinning.


    They were still clashing for few minutes.


    Then, because of the fatigue, Cain¡¯s leg slipped for a split second, losing the momentum of his attacks.


    Delmourga did not waste the chance. With a downward heavy double swing, he attacked the flinched Cain.


    Cain did not have any choice but to defend with Marlork¡¯s Hands, covering above him. When the spear and the hands clashed, the ground around him was cracked.


    Delmourga repeatedly hit the hands with his two spears mercilessly.


    Cain¡¯s defense was also sturdy, the hands hardness was something not even Delmourga¡¯s spear could break.


    Actually, Cain intentionally took those hits and not countering. One of Marlork¡¯s powers was its strength would get stronger with each hit it took.


    Delmourga noticed something was wrong when his hit gave no effect, also the hands were glowing purple, and had gotten brighter with each hit.


    Seeing Delmourga hesitated. Cain took the chance. He jumped towards his right leg. With a punch to the knee, Delmourga¡¯s entire front right leg was blown to pieces.


    ¡°WHAT!?¡± Delmourga lost his balance.


    Cain, still in mid air, won''t let up this another chance. He threw another punch to Delmourga¡¯s skull.


    Delmourga leaned to his right side to avoid Marlork¡¯s fist. Cain missed his skull but Delmourga¡¯s left arm took the hit, it was blown to pieces.


    ¡°GRAAAHHH!!!¡± Delmourga was struggling to keep his balance.


    Cain landed after the second attack. He took the spear from Delmourga¡¯s broken left hand on the ground with Marlork¡¯s Hands.


    He swung the huge spear easily because Marlork¡¯s Hands made the spear felt so light.


    Couldn''t avoid the swing, Delmourga desperately swung his spear on his right hand to parry Cain¡¯s attack.


    When the two spears clashed, Cain¡¯s spear repelled Delmourga¡¯s spear because it was simply being overpowered by Cain¡¯s


    With Delmourga wide open, Cain let the spear go and jumped with a powerful uppercut. Straight to Delmourga¡¯s jaw. His skull was crushed to pieces.


    Not stopping, Marlork¡¯s Hands clasped to each other. Cain dived and performed a Double Axe Strike, crushing Delmourga¡¯s entire front body. Only leaving his rear legs that crumbled to the ground.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    In just a mere seconds, Cain brought down Delmourga after being forced on defense. Out of breath, his hands were on his knees.


    ¡°Is it¡­ over?¡± Cain looked around to make sure Delmourga was not healing again with his undead skeletons and the blue flame.


    ¡°MOST IMPRESSIVE!¡±


    Cain was startled and took a stance.


    The bones started burning, but no skeletons were seen to mend those bones.


    ¡°DON''T WORRY, FLESHBEARER. YOU HAVE BESTED ME.¡±


    All of Delmourga¡¯s huge bones had turned into ashes. And the blue flames that burned the bones were merging into one big blazing floating blue fireball, as big as Cain.


    The fireball was slowly floating towards Cain.


    ¡°CONGRATULATION, FLESHBEARER! YOU HAVE BESTED ME, THE LORD OF MYSTICBONE!¡±


    Delmourga¡¯s voice came from the fireball.


    ¡°AS I PROMISED, YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT FROM HERE, AND I ALREADY HAVE RELEASED THE STAFF ABOVE.¡±


    Back to Hanearian¡¯s Rest, Calbot finally pulled the staff, after all of the skeletons before them crumbled.


    ¡°We did it! We got the Staff of Mgre!¡± The knights cheered after the long battle against the endless skeletons. Miraculously, the knights had no casualties, only wounds that would heal after a day or two.


    Near the hole, Jared stared into the darkness, hoping Cain would come back alive.


    Calbot tapped Jared¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You should get some rest, we will wait here for a while," said Calbot.


    ¡°He must be the one who stopped the skels from down there, right?¡± said Jared.


    ¡°He must be, and I have a feeling he¡¯s fine.¡±


    Jared nodded.


    ¡­


    Cain fell on his butt. He was exhausted after the fight.


    ¡°Thank Goddess it''s over.¡± Cain talked to himself.


    The Marlork¡¯s Hands already turned into a pile of sand.


    ¡°THERE¡¯S A STAIRS BEHIND THE SKELETONS THAT WILL LEAD YOU TO THE UPPER LEVEL, FLESHBEARER,"


    ¡°Ah! Great! I thought a have to climb or something," said Cain.


    ¡°THEN, BEFORE YOU GO, ALLOW ME TO GIVE YOU THE TRUE TREASURE FROM MYSTICBONE HALL.¡±


    ¡°Huh? True treasure?¡± Cain got up and dusted off his pants.


    A bracelet slowly materialized from the blue fireball. It was as white as bone with an asymmetric curved shape. When the bracelet fully materialized, the blue fireball became as small as Cain¡¯s fist. As if the bracelet drained most of it.


    The bracelet fell to the ground.


    ¡°THAT IS THE TRUE TREASURE, FLESHBEARER.¡±


    Cain walked to it and when he sluggishly reached the bracelet with his left hand, the bracelet jumped and attached itself to Cain¡¯s left wrist.


    ¡°Whoaa!?¡± Cain was startled, he almost fell.


    ¡°KHUHUHU, USE IT WELL, CAIN, THE BONEKING OF AZUREFLAME.¡±


    The blue fireball diminished after it gave Cain a title.


    ¡°Azurewha-argh!!¡± Cain was holding his left wrist. A sharp pain came from his wrist because of the bracelet.


    The bracelet¡¯s inside part was drilling his wrist with two needles. Those needles drilled through the bone and to the other inside part of the bracelet.


    Cain tried his best to endure the pain.


    Blood dripped from his left wrist. Cain didn''t dare to pull the bracelet, because he knew this bracelet just rooted itself to his wrist. He couldn''t forcefully remove the bracelet without proper preparation. He could lose his left hand by doing so.


    After a while, the pain gradually became less hurt, but his left hand now felt numb, he couldn''t move his left hand and its fingers.


    ¡°What kind of treasure that renders its user¡¯s hand useless?¡± grumbled Cain. ¡°¡­ huh?¡±


    Cain felt a vibration from his waist bag. He took out the source of the vibration. It was the Book of Gomara.


    He was excited, this had never happened before.


    Because he couldn''t use his left hand, he sat down and put the book on the ground. He flipped through the pages with his right hand.


    Then, he found one of the empty pages now filled with writings and a drawing, a drawing of the bracelet he was wearing.


    ¡°The Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone? A forgotten item that grants the wearer a mysterious power. The wearer of Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone is entitled as the Boneking of Azureflame," that was written on the book.


    ¡°Fancy title. Hmm¡­ even this mysterious book is giving me a mysterious description on an item," he grumbled again.


    Cain closed the book and put it back to his waist bag.


    His priority now to regroup with Calbot and Jared. He¡¯s not too worried because he saw Jared in action, even the enemies were the endless skeletons, they won''t be a match for him.


    Cain walked around the Mysticbone Hall. When he walked over remaining skeletons, they kneeled down.


    Cain stopped.


    ¡°This is the effect of Boneking title!? It¡¯s cool!¡± he smiled and continued his walk.


    After a vast number of kneeling skeletons, Cain finally found the stairs along with the unspoken treasure. Gold bars, diamonds, antiques and such were scattered around on the stairs.


    He started ascending the stairs, along the way, he took a handful of diamonds. Diamond was very expensive in the market, often used on jewelry. With this, journey expenses more than to Krevias had been covered.


    He ascended the stairs until he found a dead end, the stairs just stopped at the ceiling. But when he got close to the ceiling, the bracelet flashed a blue flame, then the ceiling split like a sliding door with a bit of tremor.


    When he stepped up from the horizontal door, Jared and the knights were ready with their weapons. He finally returned to Hanearian¡¯s Rest. The door was the altar where the staff was located.


    ¡°Cain!? Is that you!?¡± Jared lowered his weapon.


    ¡°Yeah, since when there are two or three Cain anyway.¡±


    ¡°Uoohh!!¡± some of the knights greeted him excitedly.


    ¡°Cain! Are you okay?¡± Calbot appeared with the Staff of Mgre on his hand.


    ¡°Just a minor injury," he still couldn''t move his left hand fingers actually. Cain looked at the staff, Delmourga kept his word it seemed.


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Jared was curious, seeing Cain came back with a tattered clothes, he might have battled against something down there.


    ¡°Defeating the skeletons source down there. Oh yeah, there are some real treasure down there, you can take them, also there are some skeletons there, but they are docile. It''s safe down there," Cain slightly pointed the opened altar on his back with his thumb.


    ¡°Really!?¡± hearing the treasure word, the knights got excited.


    Cain nodded and smiled.


    ¡°Captain!?¡± the knights were eagerly waiting for their captain¡¯s approval.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Prince?¡± Jared looked at Calbot.


    ¡°Yeah! Sure! You¡¯ve earned it!¡±


    ¡°Uuooohh!¡± with the Prince¡¯s approval, the knights hurriedly went down, even the wounded one.


    ¡°Don''t forget to share with our comrades at the camp!¡± said Jared.


    ¡°You won''t go there, Jared?¡± asked Cain. He sat on a crumbled pillar.


    ¡°Nah, no need," Jared shook his head lightly, "you already take some?"


    Cain nodded while tapping his waist bag. "Diamonds," said he.


    "Is that enough?" asked Jared.


    "More than enough!" Cain exclaimed, then he exhaled a bit. "What I seek is¡­ the thrill, the feel when you find what was hidden, and something you''ve never seen before¡­ and probably the treasure if I was me a month ago," Cain chuckled bitterly.


    "What changes? Ah, nevermind, everyone has past," said Jared, he didn''t want to pry. "By the way, is your wrist okay?¡± Jared looked at Cain¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°Yep, no problem," Cain was holding his left wrist.


    Jared didn''t ask about the bracelet on Cain¡¯s wrist that wasn''t there before. He thought that must be some sort of spoils of the battle he earned himself.


    ¡°Then, I thank you again on behalf of the Sun Knight Order for helping us finding the staff," Jared slightly bowed.


    ¡°Don''t thank me yet, Calbot still has no throne," said Cain.


    ¡°Jared is right, Cain," said Calbot. "With your help, we got this staff. You¡¯ve earned more than our thanks," Calbot raised the Staff of Mgre.


    They talked until the knights came back with large bags full of treasure.


    With this, they returned to the temple entrance. Along the way, the summoned Yellowback Great Bear reunited with its summoner, it successfully fended off the undead skeletons. The bear also only had a minor injury.


    The two knights that were waiting at the entrance rejoiced because their Prince brought back the legendary staff.


    They camped near the temple for the night and went back to the main camp in the first light.


    On their way back, Cain¡¯s left hand finally functioned normally.

 Chapter 17 - Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone

    When they arrived at the main camp the next day, the knights cheered them, while Calbot held the staff high. Meira hugged Calbot right away, and they had a feast after that.


    Cain also didn''t forget to consume the Hineru stems when he got rest.


    In the next morning, Cain was called to Calbot¡¯s tent.


    While having breakfast, they were planning the next step, reuniting the staff and the throne.


    ¡°We will just blast our way through to Haneama?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°We don''t have much choice, and Sun Knight Order is also in the wanted list. We can¡¯t freely enter the city," Jared shrugged.


    ¡°Yeah, and we will do that tomorrow morning, we will march to Haneama while the knight¡¯s morale is high," Calbot had a confident smile on his face.


    Jared agreed. The morale of the knights were high because they brought back the staff and the treasure.


    ¡°Alright then, let''s get ready for tomorrow. Don''t forget to pack your things tonight," said Calbot. "Jared, announce this to the Order. I want them ready for the big day tomorrow.¡±


    Cain and Jared left Calbot¡¯s tent after their breakfast was done.


    ¡°What are you gonna do today, Cain?¡± asked Jared.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll train a bit in the forest, I guess.¡±


    ¡°I see, hardworking one, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Cain was just smiled. After all, hard work was the one that brought him to this day. He shouldn''t just fooling around while his mind still remembered the moment Northfire Serpent refused to acknowledge him.


    Jared went to announce the plan for tomorrow to his Order. Cain went to the quiet part of the forest. On his way out from the camp, the knights that saw him, bowed. And some of the female knights greeted him cheerfully upon seeing the Hunter, like he was some cool kid in the block.


    Apparently, the knights that went with Cain to the temple were telling the knights in the camp how Cain stopped the source of the endless undead skeletons and found the treasure room. Also, how he bravely fought the undead skeletons and summoned what they thought was a Spirit Beast.


    Thankfully, they didn''t see the incident of Northfire Serpent.


    In the Sun Knight¡¯s eyes, Cain was a formidable young man they glad he was on their side.


    In the forest, Cain sat on a big stone near a river. He was flipping the Book of Gomara.


    He was still a little upset about the Northfire Serpent. The page about summoning Elemental Spirit Northfire Serpent was already gone. So he couldn''t do anything except getting stronger so the Serpent would obey him.


    He also thought about summoning the other Elemental Spirits. But he had to get stronger first, so the last incident wouldn¡¯t happen again.


    He opened the page about the bracelet. He hadn''t found its use yet.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ what are you hiding?¡± Cain gazed the bracelet.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡±


    Cain flowed his energy to the bracelet.


    ¡°Akh!!! What the!?¡± sharp pain hit his left wrist.


    Cain saw just in a split second, the moment the bracelet received his energy, there was a blue spark, also the shape of the bracelet morphed, and morphed back to bracelet when he stopped because of the pain.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Cain put the book beside him.


    He exhaled a deep breathe. Then he poured the bracelet again with his energy.


    ¡°Uughh!!!¡± Cain was enduring the sharp pain on his wrist.


    The blue flame blazed on the bracelet, and the bracelet was morphing, covering his hand and forearm. Even though his arm was burning, he did not get burnt or felt hot.


    Then, the blue flames diminished. Revealing a bone gauntlet that fully covered Cain¡¯s left forearm to his fingers.


    ¡°So¡­ this is your true form, huh?¡± Cain wiped his forehead. After the flames diminished, he no longer felt any pain.


    A light shone from the Book of Gomara.


    Cain excitedly took the book. A new page had been appeared after the bracelet page.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Azure Bone Gauntlet. The gauntlet of Boneking holds truly immense power, and its growth depends on the wearer.¡±


    Cain inspected the gauntlet. It was very light, as if he wore nothing on his left hand. It had sharp pointy fingers, but they didn''t get in the way when he clenched his fist.


    Although it was called Azure Bone Gauntlet, the color of the gauntlet was white, Azure represented the blue flame it emitted.


    Cain tapped on the gauntlet. The gauntlet was solid and sturdy. When Cain stood up, he felt his body became very light. The gauntlet also empowered his entire body.


    ¡°This is great!¡±


    Cain was so excited he didn''t realize there was a Giantclaw Great Bear across the river.


    ¡°Whoah!!!¡± Cain was startled, he saw the 2.7 meters tall bear crossed the river, approaching him. On its mouth, a half-dead otter, for its meal. But now it found a larger prey, it threw the otter to the side.


    Just like its name, Giantclaw Great Bear had an enormous size front leg claws. It stood on two legs and roared.


    ¡°Perfect! I can test this gauntlet right away!¡±


    The bear run towards Cain. He stood guard. Its sharp claws were the first to reach Cain.


    Cain let the claws hit the gauntlet. The moment the claws hit the gauntlet, it repelled back the bear¡¯s claws.


    ¡°(Ooh! The same as Delmourga¡¯s ability! Now, to test its power!)¡± thought Cain.


    Burning blue flames were blazing out from the gauntlet side edge.


    Cain punched the bear in the chest. With an explosion of blue flame, Cain obliterated everything in a large area in front of him. A fan shaped ground was burning with blue flames. Trees were devastated as the lower part of the bear tumbled to the ground.


    ¡°That was¡­ overkill!¡±


    Cain looked to the gauntlet. ¡°I guess I hit a jackpot¡­¡± he grinned.


    Cain concentrated his mind on the gauntlet, then, it morphed back into a bracelet form with the same process as when he summoned it. But without any pain this time.


    He approached the half-dead otter.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    He took the otter and put it on the stone. The otter was breathing slowly, its life was fading away.


    Cain quickly took some herbs from the surrounding area and grinded them. Washed the wounds and put the grinded herbs to the wounds.


    The otter was looking at Cain weakly while Cain wrapping the wound with a wide leaf.


    ¡°Alright, that should do it, sorry, I haven''t learned any healing magic," Cain petted the otter.


    Cain put the otter behind the stone, under large tree roots. So no predator would take the advantage. Also, the leaf could hide the blood smell of the wound. He also put some fruits beside it.


    ¡°Sorry, I only put fruits, can''t let another bear smell the fish if I put one.¡±


    Cain stroked his chin for a moment.


    ¡°What am I talking to animal¡­ oh well.¡±


    Then, he looked at the ground and the trees that he blew. The blue flame was still burning them.


    With his hand movement, he raised the water from the river to extinguish the fire. He just used a water manipulation magic.


    The Book of Gomara made a 180 degree-turn on his lack of magical talent. Igo told Cain that he would have to spend decades to even use the basic magic. But with Cain¡¯s hardwork and unusual ways that were discovered by Gomara, he proved the opposite.


    Like the Jet Punch technique, Gomara tweaked a bit with its movement, and the result was far stronger version of it, Shattering Fist. The same as magic, Gomara discovered ways to make it learnable even by the talentless.


    But the drawback was Cain would take a longer time to master them than even the average people, but much faster than decades, with better results than the geniuses.


    As long as he kept practicing diligently, the Book of Gomara promised him unimaginable power.


    After that, Cain changed the place to train, to get used to his new gauntlet.


    He got back when the sun was about to set.


    The camp was tidier than before, the knights were preparing for tomorrow¡¯s march.


    Cain went back to his tent, and sat in front of it. He pulled out Higa¡¯s book. With a pencil, Cain was sketching passing by knights.


    One of Higa¡¯s dreams was to become an artist. With Higa¡¯s book on his hand now, he would try to become one himself. Cain felt he shouldered the responsibility for Higa and Lexa¡¯s death. So, he¡¯s trying to fulfill their dreams instead.


    Some knights approached him.


    ¡°Cain, we would like to start a bonfire, care to join us?¡± a male knight asked him, while two female knights behind him were blushing when they saw Cain.


    ¡°Ah, sure!¡± Cain smiled.


    The female knights looked happy when Cain accepted their invitation.


    The bonfire was already lit up when they arrived. The knights greeted him warmly.


    ¡°Oh, Cain, you came?¡± said Jared, he sat near the bonfire.


    ¡°Yo!¡± Cain sat beside Jared. The female knights also sat close to Cain.


    ¡°Drink?¡± Jared offered Cain a mug of mead.


    ¡°I don''t drink alcohol," said Cain.


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Jared frowned. The other knights were also surprised.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ well, it makes you drunk, and drunk makes you vulnerable," said Cain with a straight face.


    ¡°Bahahahah! Look at him! He¡¯s so serious!¡± Jared and the knights burst into laughter.


    ¡°Quit teasing him, will ya? Here kiddo," an old man offered him a plate of lamb meat. The smell was so good Cain took the plate without any second thought.


    Cain took a bite.


    ¡°This is so good!¡± he said.


    ¡°Hahahah! Of course! He¡¯s the best! Our field chef!¡± Jared gulped the mead from his mug.


    ¡°I¡¯m Norja, a pleasure to meet you, Cain. I''ve heard so much about you just within days of your arrival here!¡± The chef called Norja hand shook with Cain.


    Cain just smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯m Rinrai!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Marna!¡±


    The female knights took the opportunity to introduce themselves.


    The other knights also introduced themselves to Cain.


    They laughed and enjoyed the moment. Calbot and Meira later joined them.


    Most of the knights got drunk and started dancing. Cain slipped away to a secluded place, he consumed three Hineru stems.


    After three hours, he went back to his tent. He lay down inside his tent, staring at the bracelet.


    ¡°What a day, huh?¡± he closed his eyes, and slept soundly.

 Chapter 18 - March!

    Cain woke up early. He wore a long sleeve shirt. After he cleared his tent, he was doing some stretching when Rinrai saw and approached him.


    ¡°Morning, Cain!¡± she greeted Cain.


    ¡°Ah, morning, Rinrai. What a night, huh? You guys usually do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sometimes. Where did you go? You suddenly disappeared," she was still blushed, but she talked more casually now because last night she realized Cain was easy to talk to.


    ¡°Ah, hahah, I just felt tired, the bonfire was fun though.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ then, would you like some coffee?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    ¡°Alright! Wait here! I¡¯ll be back in a jiffy!¡± Rinrai went to make some coffee. She¡¯s quite cute with her short hair.


    Usually, Cain would just flirt with her. But he just didn¡¯t feel like doing it.


    ¡°¡®Till when you will hide in there, Jared?¡± said Cain while doing some stretching.


    ¡°Oh? You noticed?¡± Jared appeared from behind the barrels.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? You reek of alcohol.¡±


    Jared sniffed his clothes. ¡°Oh, yeah.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get a hangover, I see," said Cain.


    ¡°What we drank last night was just a cheap ass mead, we just got a little drunk, but not enough to get us a hangover in the morning. We¡¯re in the middle of forest mind you, no high quality liquor around here. Though it¡¯s better this way, no hangover means we can focus on today¡¯s matter," said Jared.


    ¡°By the way, looks like my knights took a liking to you. Especially Rinrai," Jared continued, he sat on the barrel with arms crossed.


    Cain just smiled.


    ¡°Why don''t you go out with her? She¡¯s quite popular among the knights," said Jared.


    ¡°Huh? Are you trying to hook me up?¡±


    ¡°Hah! Why not? Oh, I know, you probably already have someone you like, eh!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I had an affair with some noble¡¯s wives and got caught. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, running away," said Cain with a convincing look.


    ¡°Wha-¡­ seriously!?¡± Jared was surprised.


    ¡°Hahahah! Look at you!¡± Cain laughed after he saw Jared¡¯s face.


    ¡°You ass!¡± Jared stood up and ruffled Cain¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Oh, Captain? You¡¯re here too?¡± Rinrai came with two cups of coffee.


    ¡°Yeah, I just talked a bit with Cain. Oh, that coffee is for me?¡±


    Jared would have the coffee if he were faster than Cain. Cain snatched it even before Jared could try.


    ¡°This is mine~, thank you, Rinrai," Cain sipped the coffee.


    ¡°Meh," Jared looked annoyed.


    ¡°Ah, then you can take mine, Captain," Rinrai held out her cup of coffee to Jared.


    Jared took the coffee with a smile.


    ¡°See, Cain? This kind of woman Rinrai is," he looked to Cain then winked to Rinrai.


    ¡°Ca-captain!?¡± Rinrai''s face turned red.


    Jared laughed and left them while sipping coffee.


    Cain sat down and awkwardly sipping his coffee. Rinrai was indeed cute when she was blushing.


    Then, he thought about what Jared said that he already had someone he liked. An image of Ivela flashed on his mind.


    ¡°Cain? Caiiin?¡± Rinrai was waving her hand in front of his face.


    ¡°Ye-yeah?¡± Cain went back to his senses.


    ¡°Is the coffee good?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this is good, perfect to start a day!¡± Cain smiled.


    Rinrai also smiled.


    ¡°Ah! There you are, Rinrai! Eh! C-Cain?¡± Marna came by and she was startled to see Cain.


    ¡°Why you didn¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to meet him!?¡± Marna whispered to Rinrai.


    ¡°I just accidentally met him!¡± whispered back by Rinrai.


    ¡°Morning, Marna," Cain waved his hand to Marna.


    ¡°Morning, Cain!¡± Marna replied. ¡°Oh yeah, Cain, would you like to help us to prepare the breakfast with my uncle?¡± Marna smiled, revealing dimples on her cheek.


    ¡°Hmm? Your uncle?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Yes! You met him last night, my uncle is Norja. Rinrai and I usually help him with food here," said Marna.


    ¡°Ooh! I see! Sure! I know a thing or two about cooking," said Cain.


    ¡°Really? Let''s go then!¡± Marna pulled Rinrai with her.


    They went to where the knights cooked their meals.


    ¡°Uncle!¡± Marna greeted Norja who was preparing the ingredients.


    ¡°Oh, Marna and Rinrai? Hmm? Cain?¡±


    ¡°Yo!¡± Cain greeted Norja.


    ¡°You hungry? Sorry, but breakfast isn''t ready yet," said Norja while chopping the vegetables.


    ¡°Actually, Cain¡¯s gonna help us with this camp last breakfast, uncle," said Marna.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    After this breakfast, the knights would march to Haneama and wouldn''t be coming back here.


    ¡°Are you?¡± Norja chopped the veggies without looking at Cain. He cut them perfectly and so fast. He¡¯s really skilled with the knife. Precise.


    ¡°Yeah, I used to work at an inn. Even though I wasn''t cooking but I often helped the cook there," said Cain.


    ¡°Great. Now help me peel the potatoes," Norja pointed at a basket full of unpeeled potatoes with his chin.


    ¡°Alright," Cain rolled up his sleeves.


    Rinrai and Marna also joined to prepare breakfast.


    Cain, with Lexa¡¯s book on his hand, he wrote the recipes he acquired from Norja. He was trying to continue Lexa¡¯s dream to become a skilled cook.


    After they were done, and had breakfast with the knights, they left the camp for good.


    ...


    The Sun Knight Order marched with its 250 knights to the capital city of Farferis, Haneama.


    Calbot and Meira sat comfortably on their horses, only both of them were riding horse. Because it was hard to supply horses on a large scale without being noticed by Farferis Knights.


    Meira insisted that she had to go with Calbot. Because if their plan failed, Calbot would likely gonna be executed. If that were to happen, She wanted at least to be at his side.


    The Sun Knights were fully armed, eager to dethrone King Termura. Calbot held close the Staff of Mgre. Cain wore a simple gear, a set of leather armor and a longsword given by the Order.


    They marched with confidence. Because the forest was close to the capital, not many wild beasts were seen. Unlike the deeper forest where Cain went to try the bracelet.


    It took a few hours to reach the gate of Haneama.


    When they finally out of the forest, a tall gate with sturdy stone wall stood not far from them. Some of Farferis Knights were guarding the gate and patrolling on the wall.


    The Sun Knight Order marched slower with Jared¡¯s signal.


    Jared nodded to his bannerman. The bannerman raised the flag of Sun Knight Order.


    Seeing the Sun Knight Order marching out of the forest with their flag raised. The Farferis Knights that guarding the gate sounded the alarm.


    ¡°Shit! They''re here! It¡¯s Sun Knight Order! And Prince Calbot!¡± Farferis Knights panicked after they saw the finest knights of their Kingdom marched into their own Kingdom with a different intention. Not to protect them, but to take back the throne for the rightful ruler of Farferis.


    Many of Farferis Knights harbored their loyalty to the current King. Of course, King Termura paid them to.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird, I didn''t see any Farferis Knight¡¯s scout in the forest," Cain said.


    ¡°I noticed that too. Those knights seem too relaxed," said Jared.


    ¡°Hmph! Maybe my uncle don¡¯t think I¡¯m such a threat after all!¡± Calbot looked annoyed.


    Meira quickly held Calbot¡¯s hand and she just smiled. Calbot smiled wryly.


    ¡°Are you sure this frontal assault is gonna work? Maybe they already have prepared a trap?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure they have. I know how my uncle think,¡± responded Calbot.


    ¡°Then¡­?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cain. We have Sun Knight Order and you,¡± said Calbot. ¡°Besides, our goal is just to reunite the staff and throne. We¡¯ll just have to reach the Palace and it¡¯s done," he continued.


    Farferis¡¯s military power was among the lowest in Valfikr. Its spear tip, the Sun Knight Order, now rebelling against their false King, leaving Farferis with no real power to pose a threat.


    ¡°Hopefully it¡¯ll be as easy as it sounds,¡± said Cain.


    Calbot smiled with confidence.


    ¡°We''re close enough," said Calbot.


    Jared signaled the Order to stop marching.


    ¡°Let''s go, Jared. Let''s see if they will open the gate for us. You should come too, Cain," said Calbot while getting off from the horse.


    ¡°Okay," responded Cain.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± said Meira.


    Calbot nodded.


    Calbot, Jared and Cain went to the gate. Meira was under heavy guard by the Sun Knights, Calbot made sure so that if something were to happen, Meira could escape easily. Even if Meira wanted to be at his side forever, Calbot couldn''t let her die with him.


    When they arrived at the gate, the Farferis Knights on the gate were arrogantly looking down at Calbot. But it¡¯s clear they were tense. After all, Sun Knight Order was on their doorstep.


    ¡°I am Prince Calbot Hanea! Open the gate at once!¡± shouted Calbot.


    ¡°Huh? Sorry Prince, you are no longer have the right to order us. King Termura said so," the Farferis Knights sneered at them.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± Jared almost unsheathed his sword when Calbot stopped him.


    ¡°You all know very well, there will be bloodshed today, and this gate will be the first to have it if you don''t open it," said Calbot. He was still trying to avoid a meaningless bloodshed.


    The Farfetris Knights looked at each other, they knew it was true. But they also knew King Termura had plan for Sun Knight Order.


    ¡°You won''t win over us, Prince! Go back to the hole you came out of!¡± said the Farferis Knights.


    No longer could suppress his anger, Jared split the gate in two with a sword technique called Bold Slash.


    The iron gate split and fell in just a sec.


    Calbot sighed. He hoped he could minimize the blood that would spill over his way to the throne. It no longer an option it seemed.


    ¡°At-atta- we¡¯ve been attacked!!!¡± the Farferis Knights on the wall were startled. In their hearts, they blamed the knight that provoked the Captain of Sun Knight Order.


    Jared indeed no ordinary knight. He easily split the iron gate in two.


    Seeing their captain opened the path, the Sun Knight Order started marching again.


    ¡°Damn! Attack!¡± unorganized Farferis Knights began to attack, starting from the closest to them, Calbot, Jared and Cain.


    ¡°I¡¯ll open the path for you! Stay close to Calbot!¡±


    Cain dashed towards the opened gate. With the longsword, he cut down the Farferis Knights that waiting for him inside the gate.


    Cain swiftly cut them down one by one. He¡¯s not using any techniques, only his refined swordplay. Cain didn''t kill them, he just rendered them unable to fight. Whatever their fate later was for Calbot to judge.


    ¡°Who the hell is he!? He cut our knights like nothing!¡± said the Farferis Knight who were watching Cain in action.


    With the Farferis Knights on the gate were being pushed back, the Sun Knight Order easily got inside along with Jared, Calbot and Meira. The Sun Knight Order joined Cain to fight the Farferis Knights.


    Calbot and Meira rode their horses again with some of the Sun Knights glued to them.


    Seeing the ruckus on the gate, the civilians started to run. But some of them cheered the Sun Knight Order¡¯s arrival. They were the people that shared the idea of erasing the slavery system was a better future for Farferis.


    More Farferis Knights arrived at the scene, but their number was nothing because Cain was leading the charge.


    They made their way to the market area while pushing back the Farferis Knights.


    The civilians already fled from there. Leaving their wares behind.


    The Sun Knight Order was really skilled, they mostly avoided the collateral damage on the environment. No houses or public facilities were destroyed. But some stalls of the traders became the silent witnesses of how stormy Cain and Sun Knight Order neutralizing the Farferis Knights were.


    Seeing they were losing with blazing pace, many Farferis Knights dropped their weapons to surrender.


    ¡°They really have no true loyalty to my uncle, huh?¡± Calbot observed from his horse, with Meira on his side.


    They advanced past the market.


    They finally made their way to a huge building in a wide area. It was Haneama Palace, where the nobles and the King resided.


    ¡°Home sweet home," Calbot gazed the Palace with a smile.


    Most of the Farferis Knights had already surrendered or ran away.


    Then, a group of people came out from the Palace. Their bodies were wounded, some even struggling to just walk. Weapons on their hands and tired eyes, they walked towards Cain and the others.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Cain squinted his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s another reason why I must erase the slavery system in Farferis, Cain," Calbot looked at the approaching group with a sympathizing expression.


    ¡°Those are combat slaves,¡± Jared tapped Cain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°They¡¯re noble¡¯s plaything, forced to fight each other as entertainment or as dispensable forces.¡±


    On Cain¡¯s mind, he was right to help Calbot. He learned about combat slaves from Igo, but it was really different from seeing them with his own eyes. Humans treated inhumanely.


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°Above!¡± Cain shouted. He felt a surge of power was coming from above.


    A figure landed in front of them. The ground where he landed became a crater.


    An old man stood in front of them. With a robust body, he only wore trousers. A greatsword rested on his shoulder.


    ¡°You still look like shit, Jared," said the old man while grinning.

 Chapter 19 - Try me

    ¡°You!? What are you doing here!?¡± Jared was shocked after seeing the old man. He no longer gave a calm expression.


    ¡°What? Am I not allowed here? I have a contract here," said the old man


    ¡°What!? You chose to side with Termura!?¡± Jared asked with a tense tone.


    ¡°Tsk, tsk¡­ Jared my boy, there¡¯s no such thing choosing side for mercs. The money choose us!¡± The old man grinned ear to ear.


    ¡°Who is he?¡± Cain asked Calbot.


    ¡°He¡­ he is Bartega Dern Fao. He¡¯s an ex-Hunter with Sapphire rank. And now he¡¯s a famous mercenary called the Old Beast. He¡¯s a dangerous man because he took any job even the bad ones as long as it pays him good. He was also Jared¡¯s mentor before Jared went to the knights," replied Calbot, he had a worry-face on him.


    ¡°My contract is to not let anyone enter the Palace. But, if you wanna try¡­¡± said Bartega while looking at the Sun Knight Order.


    Sun Knight Order was hesitated, they knew they were in deep trouble as they did not expect the Old Beast would be employed by King Termura.


    ¡°Try me," Cain walked forward.


    ¡°Huh? Cain? He¡¯s not someone you can beat!¡± Jared tried to stop Cain.


    ¡°Your mission is to escort the Prince to the throne, let me handle this, I¡¯ll just have to stall him at least until you guys reach the throne," said Cain calmly


    Jared looked at Cain, he realized what Cain said was true.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave you some of the Sun Knight¡¯s finest!¡± said Jared.


    ¡°No need, I myself will be enough. Who knows what awaits you inside the Palace," said Cain.


    ¡°Huheheheeheh! Look at what we found! A kid dare to insult the Old Beast?¡± a voice was heard from somewhere.


    Meira¡¯s face turned pale when she heard the voice.


    A floating man, sitting cross-legged in the air to be exact, appeared from behind the combat slaves. As the source of the voice, he wore a fine robe with jewelry adorned his clothes. He held a wooden staff with a dark aura on it.


    ¡°Ulsarzath!?¡± Calbot seemed surprised upon seeing this man.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good! Cain! That¡¯s Ulsarzath the Marker! He possessed a frightening magic power!¡± Calbot became uneasy, first the Old Beast, now the Marker himself appeared before them.


    Calbot knew, if the slavery system was erased, Ulsarzath would take the most impact. That would make Ulsarzath the first to try to eliminate him. But he never expected the Old Beast also under his uncle¡¯s control.


    ¡°Why are you here? Shouldn''t you be at the King¡¯s side?¡± Bartega spoke without looking at Ulsarzath.


    ¡°No, our King gave me no order. He told me to get outta here though. But I¡¯m free to do whatever I want! Huheheheh!¡± said Ulsarzath.


    Bartega just stood there. Observing Cain.


    ¡°Weird¡­ I can''t measure you, young man," Bartega¡¯s face suddenly turned serious. He looked at Cain.


    ¡°What do you mean, Old Beast? He¡¯s just a kid!¡± said Ulsarzath.


    ¡°Not really¡­ you better get your slaves moving," said Bartega.


    ¡°Tsk! Fine! You heard the Old Beast! Get them!¡±


    The slaves started to run towards the group.


    ¡°You guys go ahead to the Palace! I¡¯ll hold them off!¡± said Caid, he took a stance with his sword.


    ¡°Are you sure you don''t want my knights!?¡± asked Jared.


    ¡°Just go! Faster is better!¡±


    Jared nodded. The Sun Knight Order ran towards the Palace.


    ¡°We will back shortly! Be careful, Cain!¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Who says you can go!?¡± Ulsarzath raised his staff.


    A huge fireball appeared from the air, it flew towards the knights.


    Cain quickly reacted to Ulsarzath magic by casting an earth magic.


    An earth tunnel protected the knights from the fireball, also gave them a safe passage towards the Palace.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The Sun Knights were astonished to see Cain¡¯s quick reaction. Some of the knights that doubted the story of their fellow knights that went with Cain to Hanearian''s Rest now could confirm his ability by themselves.


    ¡°See? I knew it. If you can''t measure someone, that means he¡¯s stronger than he looks. Maybe even stronger I deemed dangerous people," said Bartega. He had seen and fought numerous people in his Hunter days, his experience wouldn''t lie.


    Bartega lowered his greatsword from his shoulder and took a stance. ¡°Get serious, Ulsarzath," said Bartega.


    ¡°Tsk! Go get him!¡± Ulsarzath ordered his slaves again to attack Cain.


    ¡°(Hmm¡­ he¡¯s the Marker. Then if I bring him down, the combat slaves should regain their freedom. I should target him first!)¡± thought Cain.


    Cain dashed towards the combat slaves.


    He jumped to one of the slaves, used him as a stepping, he did another jump to reach the floating Ulsarzath.


    But a greatsword came blocking Cain. He parried the greatsword but was pushed back because of the swing force. It was Bartega¡¯s.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I told you to get serious, Ulsarzath?¡± said Bartega, his tone was serious.


    ¡°Tsk! I¡¯ll kill him myself!¡± said Ulsarzath.


    ¡°No. Go deal with the Sun Knights. I¡¯ll handle him.¡±


    ¡°Tsk! Fine! Come with me, slaves!¡± Ulsarzath seemed annoyed, being ordered by Bartega, but he knew even the Old Beast was old, he¡¯s nowhere near on Bartega¡¯s level.


    Cain saw Ulsarzath was trying to leave the scene. He rushed to Bartega and traded blows with the Old Beast. Not only Bartega¡¯s greatsword was heavy, but his swings also precise and fast.


    Cain glanced to Ulsarzath, he wasn¡¯t that far.


    ¡°Where are you looking at, kid!!¡± said Bartega.


    Bartega saw an opportunity, he spun his body and did a vertical full upwards swing.


    Cain held close his sword to parry, he made use Bartega¡¯s swing force as his accelerator. He flew away by the swing, to Ulsarzath direction.


    ¡°Shit! Ulsarzath! Watch out!¡± Bartega shouted, realizing Cain¡¯s target was actually Ulsarzath.


    ¡°Huh!? Gahh!!¡±


    Ulsarzath dodged Cain¡¯s slash to the side.


    That slash almost beheaded Ulsarzath. He dodged in a split second. Cain¡¯s slash grazed his forehead instead.


    ¡°Aakkh! What the fuck, Old Beast!? You said you got him!?¡± Ulsarzath held his bleeding forehead.


    ¡°Quit whining! He¡¯s coming!¡± said Bartega.


    After landed, Cain dashed with a slash to Ulsarzath direction.


    ¡°Arrgh!¡± Ulsarzath landed on the ground and cast a fire magic.


    A huge flaming boulder rolling towards Cain¡¯s direction.


    Cain split the boulder in half with his sword. But what awaited him behind the boulder was the combat slaves.


    Their eyes filled with rage, they attacked Cain recklessly. They were clearly not on their minds.


    Ulsarzath buffed them with magic, filled them with rage, increasing their destructive force.


    Cain¡¯s punch and kick did not mean a thing to them, as they did not care about their body because of the magic.


    ¡°Hahah! How do you like it, huh?¡± said Ulsarzath. A black aura emitted from his staff grew bigger.


    ¡°Tch! He made them like this!?¡± Cain couldn''t just hurt them because they were forced to do this, out of their own will. He couldn''t just kill innocents.


    Cain took a step backward, then he quickly cast an earth magic. The ground around him caught the leg of the slaves, sealing their movement.


    ¡°Tsk! How dare you!¡± gritted Ulsarzath.


    Ulsarzarth cast dozens of fireballs above him. The fireballs rained down onto Cain.


    Cain also cast fire magic, many small flame lances shot out and hit the fireballs.


    Explosive streaks filled the air. Smoke rose in the area.


    ¡°He actually fought fire with fire!?¡± Bartega came to Ulsarzath side.


    ¡°Who the hell is he!? I never heard a young man with such talent exist in Farferis!?¡± Ulsarzath yelled to Bartrega.


    ¡°Prince Calbot¡¯s trump card perhaps?¡± unlike Ulsarzath, Bartega was still composed.


    When the smoke cleared, the slaves were already moved to the side, unconscious.


    Cain stood there, ready for anything.


    ¡°Youngman, who are you?¡± Bartega tried to talk to Cain.


    ¡°Why are you talking to him now!?¡± said Ulsarzath, annoyed.


    But Cain just stood there. Flame slowly rose from his body.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wro-... that¡¯s magic!!!¡±


    When Bartega realized something was wrong and looked at Ulsarzath, Cain already stood behind the Marker.


    His right hand was on Ulsarzath¡¯s jaw while his left hand gripped Ulsarzath¡¯s head.


    With a little movement, a clear sound of breaking bones could be heard. Cain just snapped Ulsarzath¡¯s neck.


    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re fully trained, aren¡¯t you? That precise movement and no hesitation," Bartega couldn''t believe he didn''t sense Cain movement at all.


    ¡°Here I thought he would be strong," said Cain as he let Ulsarzath¡¯s lifeless body fell down.


    Ulsarzath wasn''t the first man Cain killed. Igo taught the Trio to be effective in combat, if beating didn''t finish the job, killing did.


    Igo often took them to subdue bandit groups around Arozora back then. He taught them to never hesitate to kill someone if they were dangerous to the Trio and to the people around them. ¡°Hesitation could get you killed eventually, or worse, your loved ones,¡± said Igo.


    This situation was different from the Kingsmight incident. Therefore, Cain did not hesitate to execute someone if it was necessary.


    ¡°... You still want to continue? Soon, King Termura will be stripped down from his crown. No one will pay you," said Cain.


    ¡°Huh, you may be right. But contract is contract!¡± said Bartega.


    Bartega¡¯s body released a powerful aura.


    ¡°Time to get serious, kid!¡± he said.


    ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s what you wa-!¡±


    Bartega¡¯s greatsword suddenly appeared in front of Cain¡¯s face.


    ¡°Kuhh!!¡± Cain dodge the sword just by hair and took a few steps back.


    Bartega¡¯s speed at least increased fivefold from before. Cain regained his stance and looked at Bartega.


    Bartega¡¯s form was weird. His left hand on the ground, while his right hand held the greatsword upward, lightning sparks were enveloping his body. He was like a three legged beast with a greatsword on one of his limbs.


    ¡°Wh-what is that?¡±


    ¡°Let me show why I¡¯m called the Old Beast!¡± Bartega grinned ear to ear.

 Chapter 20 - Old Beast

    With incredible speed, Bartega leaped towards Cain. He swung his greatsword with a strange motion.


    Unlike when he was in his normal form that swung the greatsword like how a master swordsman did, this form was just like his moniker, beast, because he swung his greatsword with random and unpredictable moves.


    ¡°(What¡¯s with this weird moves!?)¡± thought Cain as he dodged and parry Bartega¡¯s move.


    When Cain was about to counter, Bartega took a step back, jumped into the air and threw down his greatsword to Cain.


    Cain rolled to the side, but suddenly his left arm was grabbed by Bartega and he was thrown away. He crashed to the ground but regained his stance after a few steps back.


    ¡°(Damn he¡¯s fast!)¡± thought Cain.


    Bartega took his greatsword that pierced the ground, still with his three legged stance.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, kid? Done already?¡± said Bartega while grinning.


    Cain looked at his longsword, it was still in good condition. Then he took another sword from the ground, used by the combat slaves.


    With a dual wielding style, he took a low stance.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring down the beast!¡± Cain grinned.


    Dozens fireballs as big as a coconut appeared around Cain. With his hand movement, the fireballs shot out towards Bartega.


    Bartega dodge the incoming fireballs, rolled sideways, jumped, even dashed back and forth.


    Not stopping, the fireballs kept appearing around Cain and kept shooting.


    ¡°(He also proficient at controlling magic!? Hah! This is gonna be worth a while!)¡± thought Bartega as he kept dodging.


    The area around them was devastated, thankfully they were fighting at open area. The unconscious combat slaves didn¡¯t get caught in their battle area. Also no houses or buildings around them, so Cain did not hesitate to use wide area magic and techniques.


    ¡°How about this!¡± said Cain.


    Some of the fireballs fired up to the sky. And went down with a curved movement.


    ¡°From above, eh? It won¡¯t work!¡± Bartega said that, but he just stood still.


    The fireballs ravaged the area. Explosion after explosion. When it was done, the smoke were rising up around there.


    Bartega rushed out from the smoke towards Cain.


    ¡°Damn! He survived that too!?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°My turn!¡± said Bartega.


    But when he almost reached Cain, the ground he stepped shone, revealing a rune circle. 3 pointed up stone spears emerged from the rune circle.


    ¡°!¡±


    Bartega jumped right away even before the spears could touch his lightning sparks that enveloped his body.


    But Cain was already above him, with a sword in each hand, he swung the swords down.


    Bartega curled up his body for an anticipation to use his technique. Then, he did a wide range slash, unleashing Gigant Slash, a slash that shot up a huge yellowish wave.


    ¡°Guhh!¡± Cain desperately twisted his body so the wave wouldn''t hit him.


    When he managed to avoid the wave, he threw one of the swords to Bartega.


    Bartega easily split the sword in half.


    They both landed safely and dashed to each other. Cain took another sword from the ground on his way.


    Their swords clashed with incredible speed, sparks flew everywhere when their swords met.


    Cain with his two swords unleashed Twin Crows, a technique to disarm an opponent''s weapon. But Bartega with his weird swordplay form made it ineffective.


    Cain¡¯s swords were broken because he used Gomara¡¯s technique.


    Cain did a few backflips to make a distance, he took a sword on the ground while doing so.


    With a low stance, he unleashed Wind Guillotine, he let the broken sword after the swing and took another sword on the ground fluidly then unleashed another Wind Guillotine, and did that again for the third time. 3 waves of Wind Guillotine were coming towards the Old Beast.


    Bartega could feel the slashes were coming to him even though those were invisible.


    He answered with Gigant Slash, also three times.


    The collision between the techniques ended in a draw, the slashes neutralized one another.


    They both stood their ground.


    ¡°Impressive, youngman!¡± said Bartega. ¡°You cast spells like a wizard and cut like a blade master," he continued.


    ¡°Heh, Thank you?¡± said Cain as he threw whatever left from the sword.


    ¡°Why are you working with the Prince? A man like you, could take whatever you want with your skills," said Bartega, still in his Beast stance.


    ¡°Why? Because I know what¡¯s wrong and right," said Cain. He walked to a sword that stuck in the ground. He stomped the ground lightly and caught the sword that jumped from it.


    ¡°And my skills, better to use them against someone like you," said Cain.


    ¡°Is that so? Then, one of us must die here," said Bartega.


    Cain took a stance, with his sword pointing at Bartega.


    ¡°If you insist," said Cain with a sharp smile.


    ...


    Inside Haneama Palace was a mess, Sun Knight Order forced their way through. Even with limited number, their casualties were low compared to Farferis Knights.


    With Jared¡¯s superb commands, Sun Knight Order was slow but steadily moving forward to the inner part of the Palace.


    Some of the Farferis Knights threw down their weapons. Either they actually support Calbot or they knew they couldn''t hold against the Sun Knight Order.


    ¡°That¡¯s the door to the Throne Room!¡± said Calbot, he and Meira weren¡¯t on their horses anymore.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Good! We¡¯re close! Knights! Advance!¡± Jared forced his way through the remaining Farferis Knights.


    He kicked the Throne Room door.


    There, hundreds of Farferis Knights stood ready for them.


    Behind them, King Termura sat on his throne. The throne was red, blood red, resembling how Hanea royal family¡¯s way to seize the throne.


    ¡°So, this is the rest of the Farferis Knights. It is as you expected, Prince," said Jared. He actually noticed when the number of Farferis Knights they fought on their way to the Palace was lower than he knew.


    Calbot just smiled with a fierce look.


    ¡°So, you came! Hmph! I knew the Old Beast is really old nowadays," said King Termura. He wore a golden crown decorated with jewels. Dark circles around his eyes clearly said he lacked rest. He looked sluggish. His figure was thin and slouched. Some of the nobles stood around him.


    ¡°How you¡¯ve been, uncle? Ew!... you look terrible! The throne did that to you?¡± Calbot sarcastically mocked his uncle the moment he saw him.


    ¡°You brat! You dare to invade my Kingdom!?¡± King Termura angrily shouted. The veins on his forehead were twitching.


    ¡°It¡¯s MY Kingdom. And I¡¯m gonna take it back today," said Calbot.


    The staff had not reacted yet. Calbot speculated that the staff had to get closer to the throne to trigger the effect, if the legend was true. If not, he already steeled himself to see more bloodshed, just like how Farferis¡¯s history was. Most of the rulers got their throne by force, even though they were family.


    To get closer to the throne, they had to break through hundreds of Farferis Knights in front of them. And they were totally outnumbered 1 to 3.


    King Termura focused his forces in the Throne Room the moment he was alerted to Calbot¡¯s arrival.


    That was why Sun Knight Order reached the Palace easily. The Farferis Knights were concentrated in the Throne Room, making this was the real fight.


    ¡°You¡¯re still clinging to that pathetic Prince, eh Jared?¡±


    A man with a scar on his face appeared from the Farferis Knights crowd. He held a black great axe as big as his body.


    ¡°Ah, Kaurev, you¡¯re still hanging with that loser King of yours I see," Jared smirked.


    Jared replied calmly, unlike when he was at the gate. Because he knew this person, they often insult each other.


    That man was Kaurev Gelga, his rival when they were still knights trainee. They both had great achievements, but because Kaurev¡¯s inferiority complex was triggered when Jared was chosen as the Captain of Sun Knight Order, he never saw the light again. He despised Jared, and Prince Calbot that chose him from the bottom of his heart.


    He climbed the ranks and finally the General of Farferis title was on his grasp. He felt above the sky because now he could look down on Jared. He was serving the King, unlike Jared, serving a criminal. He no longer saw Jared as a rival.


    ¡°Quit your chit-chat!! Deal with them quick, Genera-!¡±


    Right before King Termura done with his angry shout, wall on the right side of the Throne Room was blasted from the other side.


    Everyone in the Throne Room shifted their attention to the wall.


    lightning sparked within the rising dust.


    No one made a move until the dust settled, revealing two people within.


    Old beast still on his Beast stance, and Cain was dusting off his shoulder. He held what was left of his broken sword.


    ¡°Old Beast!?¡± said King Termura. He leaned his thin body forward.


    The Farferis Knights had a shocked expression.


    ¡°That stance!¡± Jared felt chil down to his spine. That stance was Bartega¡¯s true power. He himself was not even able to hold on for more than ten minutes against that. But Cain managed to hold him off, even though he didn''t know how long Bartega had been fighting in that stance.


    ¡°Oh? Hi King!¡± Bartega gazed towards King Termura and back to Cain.


    ¡°Hi Calbot, and Jared!¡± Cain waved his hand without looking at them.


    ¡°You¡¯re still alive, Old Beast!?¡± asked Kaurev in surprise.


    ¡°What? You think I¡¯m dead?¡± Bartega was annoyed by Kaurev¡¯s question. Clearly they didn''t have a good term.


    ¡°Good! Now wipe them all, Old Beast!¡± said King Termura. He had gotten impatient.


    ¡°I don''t think so, King," Bartega stood up from his Beast stance, the lightning sparks that enveloped his body were dispersed.


    ¡°What do you mean!?¡± King Termura responded.


    ¡°This man,¡± Bartega pointed his greatsword at Cain. ¡°Excluding me, even all of you in this room combined your strength to take him down, he won''t lose.¡±


    Everyone in the room was shocked by Bartega¡¯s words.


    Bartega was famous for never praise someone unless his opponent at least on par with himself. And he was currently the strongest person in Farferis they knew.


    To be considered as strong as the Old Beast by the Old Beast himself, Cain became the center of attention right now.


    ¡°Hahahahah! Is the Old Beast finally out of his mind? How can this weak looking man possesses a strength stronger than me?¡± Kaurev laughed sarcastically.


    Kaurev¡¯s words made some of the Farferis Knights laughed.


    Jared And Calbot were still confused about Bartega¡¯s words. Was Cain really that strong?


    ¡°Fools always mock what they see, eh?¡± Bartega shook his head. ¡°If it''s gonna make you feel better, he killed Ulsarzath the Marker, EASILY," Bartega¡¯s tone when he said ¡°easily¡± was heavy.


    The Throne Room fell silent.


    ¡°Ulsarzath!? Dead!?¡±


    ¡°The Old Beast must be joking, right?¡±


    Farferis Knights had gotten restless.


    Calbot quickly faced Meira that stood behind him.


    He held Meira¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I, as the master of this slave, release her from her shackles!¡±


    As Calbot spoke those words, black smoke appeared from Meira¡¯s covered neck. Calbot then slowly uncovered Meira¡¯s neck.


    The slave mark wasn''t there anymore.


    ¡°Its-its gone!¡± gasped Calbot.


    He hugged Meira tightly.


    No words came from Meira¡¯s mouth, only tears were flowing down from her eyes.


    The slave mark won''t disappear if only the master release his/her slave. Making the marked become slave forever. But it''s different if the Marker also released it, or died.


    Seeing this, Sun Knight Order cheered at them with joy.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be!? Ulsarzath is really dead!?¡± King Termura clenched his fist. ¡°Kaurev! Clean this mess now! Old Beast! Bring me Calbot¡¯s head and I¡¯ll double your payment!¡±


    ¡°Hah! Now we¡¯re talking! Sorry kid, looks like our fight will have to continue late-!¡±


    A stone spear almost hit Bartega¡¯s head.


    ¡°Sorry too! can''t let you go there!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Huh!¡± Bartega went back to his Beast stance. The lightning sparks appeared and enveloped his body again, with wider radius than before.


    ¡°Jared! It¡¯s now or never!¡± Calbot tapped on Jared¡®s shoulder. Meira still on his other arm.


    Jared nodded with confidence.


    ¡°Knights! Advance!¡±


    The Sun Knight Order formed an arrowhead formation with Calbot and Meira at its center and Jared at its head.


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    The Farferis Knights could not hold their ground when the Sun Knight Order suddenly unleashed their barrage of magic attack from their rear ranks and melee attack from their vanguard.


    ¡°Heaahhh!!!¡± Kaurev leapt and swung down his great axe towards Jared. With careful parry, Jared changed its direction. The great axe smashed the ground and broke the floor apart. If it were hit to anyone else, the great axe¡¯s force was strong enough to blow them to pieces.


    ¡°Knights! Go ahead! I¡¯ll take care of him! Keep the Prince safe!¡± said Jared.


    ¡°Take care of me!!!???¡± Kaurev snapped when he heard Jared¡¯s words.


    He retracted the great axe and swung it again towards Jared. He completely ignored the Sun Knight Order and Calbot that moved past him.


    Jared knew where to hit Kaurev¡¯s sore spot.


    They traded blows. They held their own ground. Kaurev¡¯s skills weren''t beneath Jared, they were exactly at the same level. Two of the most talented Knights in Farferis were pitting each other for different purposes.


    Across the room, Cain was surrounded by the Farferis Knights.


    ¡°Get lost! You¡¯re no match for him!¡± Bartega got annoyed because the Farferis Knights stood between him and Cain.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir! but this is King¡¯s order!¡±


    ¡°Hrrrhh!¡± Bartega knew, even if he left Cain to the knights, he would able to catch him up quickly.


    He tasted Cain¡¯s techniques and magic. He knew those skills weren''t a gift he was born with. But through a dedicated training and experience.


    He was already at full power from the start, but he realized Cain hadn''t shown him his true power yet. He decided to finish off Cain first then Calbot after that.


    The Farferis Knights pointed their weapons towards Cain.


    Cain sighed. ¡°Alright I¡¯ll just warn you once, if you put down your weapons, I will not hurt you," said Cain, trying to persuade them.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Bartega was a bit confused, he didn''t know whether Cain was naive or inexperienced at war. If it were so easy to persuade another by just words alone, there shouldn''t be a civil war right now.


    ¡°Attack!¡± The Farferis Knights ignored Cain¡¯s warning.


    ¡°Fine!¡± Cain took a stance. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good time to test this in actual combat!¡± Cain threw his broken sword to the side.


    Blue flame enveloped Cain¡¯s left hand up to his elbow.


    The knights halted their attack upon seeing this.


    Bone gauntlet revealed its form on Cain¡¯s left hand.


    ¡°Bring it on!¡± he shouted with a fierce smile.

 Chapter 21 - Battle for the King鈥檚 Bloody Throne

    Cain made use the Farferis Knight¡¯s hesitation to use a magic powered technique. He punched the floor with the Gauntlet.


    The ground in front of him root cracked and the blue flame blasted out from the crack, followed by burst of explosions above it.


    The technique was Earth Splitter combined with Flame Paradise. The Farferis Knights that caught on its range were burned, they were screaming in pain. Some even turned into ashes.


    ¡°Damn¡­¡± said Cain, it was actually unintentional to kill some of them.


    Cain¡¯s show of power made the Farferis Knights flinched. With just one technique, dozens of them fell down already.


    A yellow streak was blitzing to Cain¡¯s direction.


    ¡°That¡¯s your trump card, eh!!!¡± Bartega swung down his greatsword with incredible speed, much faster than before.


    Cain expected this, with calm yet sharp movement, he reflected Bartega¡¯s greatsword with the Gauntlet¡¯s ability.


    ¡°Ugh!?¡± Bartega didn''t expect his greatsword would be bounced back.


    With unbalanced stance because of the reflect, Bartega was wide open.


    Cain clenched his right fist and threw a straight punch to Bartega¡¯s solar plexus. It was Shattering Fist.


    His fist broke through the lightning sparks on Bartega¡¯s body, but his hand also got hurt in the process.


    The lightning sparks weren''t just for show, it was actually a high defense technique that would electrocute and whipped anything that came in contact with it.


    Right before Cain hit him, Bartega was slightly jumped back, but due to his unbalanced stance, he couldn''t fully evade Cain''s attack. Although by jumping back he dampened the damage, he still received about half of the damage.


    ¡°That was a good punch! I feel it! Hah! To think a kid like you actually able to hit me while I¡¯m in this stance. You¡¯re truly dangerous!¡± said Bartega.


    ¡°...¡±


    Cain looked into his right arm, it was numb and a bit burned here and there because of the lightning sparks.


    No Farferis Knights around them dared to interfere. They clearly understood Cain¡¯s level was as same as the Old Beast.


    ¡°I got a feeling you still haven''t do your best, right?¡± said Bartega, not disturbed by the damage he received from Cain


    ¡°You haven''t either.¡± Cain replied.


    He clenchd his right fist tightly. A lightning sparked on his right arm. Then he moved his right arm to front and back with ease.


    ¡°You¡­ overcame that!? That means, you also have a lightning magic!?¡± said Bartega in surprise.


    ¡°Who knows.¡± Cain took a stance with an axe on his right hand that he took from the ground.


    ¡°Hahaha! This is more than I expected!¡± Bartega stood up from his Beast stance. But the lightning sparks weren''t gone from his body, instead those were growing more intense.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take that Gauntlet of yours, I realized your power and speed are increased after it appeared. Looks ancient¡­ must be fetch a good price!¡±


    ¡°Greedy one, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Money keeps you alive,¡± Bartega grinned. ¡°And one thing, who taught you to fight? It¡¯s rare to see someone at your age so skillfully with combat.¡±


    ¡°I have teachers, can¡¯t say who though.¡± Cain replied.


    Cain actually learnt his weapon arts from the Book of Gomara. While Igo only taught him basic of many weapons, Cain polished his weapon masteries under the Book guidance.


    ¡°Heh, fine.¡±


    Bartega held his greatsword with two hands. The edge of his greatsword turned into bright red, hot metal alike.


    Cain had gotten cautious. All this time, Bartega always held his greatsword with one hand, and the swing from it was already strong and heavy. He couldn''t imagine how dangerous the swing was now Bartega held it with two hands.


    ¡°This is my greatest technique. It¡¯s called Hot Thunder Beast.¡±


    After Bartega told Cain his technique¡¯s name, the lightning sparks that surrounding him were getting more violent. Some of the sparks whipped the floor and left burning marks.


    The Farferis Knights could only watch them, as their fight was not something they should interfere with.


    Both of them stood still, whoever moved first would start the clash.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    With an instant dash and a vertical swing, Bartega¡¯s greatsword almost split Cain in half if not for quick reflex of Cain.


    But when Cain dodged to the left side, Bartega¡¯s greatsword changed its direction to him in mid air, leaving a red streak in the air.


    Cain jumped back, the slash slightly touched his leather armor on the chest part. While jumping back, he threw his axe. Again, Bartega¡¯s greatsword changed direction and slashed the axe like a hot knife through butter.


    Cain made a distance with that jump. He looked at the cut on his leather armor.


    ¡°(That is dangerous! He can change the sword¡¯s direction in mid air!)¡± Cain thought to himself.


    ¡°This sword is my most prized reward from my Hunter days. It¡¯s called Jirjax,¡± said Bartega. ¡°And Zap Swing is the name of the direction changing technique, If you¡¯re curious.¡± he added.


    ¡°Huh? You read my mind?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Not really, your face says it all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain wondered if the Azure Bone Gauntlet could repel Bartega¡¯s greatsword cut capability. If it''s not, then not only he could lose the Gauntlet, but also his left arm.


    ¡°Come on! Show me all of your trump cards, heheh!¡± Bartega grinned, he looked enjoying the fight.


    Cain looked over Jared and Calbot direction. He must help them fast.


    Cain actually had mastered many of magic and techniques from the Book of Gomara. But he never actually tested them in actual battle. After the Northfire Serpent incident, he was a bit reluctant to use his untested magic and techniques.


    But he also realized, holding back was not an option. Because of holding back, he lost his dearests.


    ¡°(Should I use Marlork¡¯s Hands or other high magic? No, it¡¯s not efficient against someone as fast as him! I must bypass his Zap Swing somehow!)¡±


    Cain took a stance with his both fist clenched.


    ¡°Come!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°Heh!¡± Bartega dashed towards Cain.


    Cain dodged Bartega¡¯s barrage of attack, while maintaining his range so he wouldn''t get caught by the whipping lightning sparks.


    ¡°Dodging won''t kill me, kid!!!¡±


    While attacking Cain with his greatsword, Bartega¡¯s lightning sparks area range was expanding to eventually the sparks also reached Cain.


    Getting harder to dodge, Cain erected a thick stone wall. But it was not a match against Bartega¡¯s Jirjax. He sliced it easy.


    Finally, Bartega¡¯s relentless attack especially the lightning sparks, made Cain stood open for a moment.


    Bartega swung Jirjax with all his might horizontally, aimed at the neck. He wanted to finish this in one clean swing.


    ¡°(There goes my arm!)¡± that was what Cain thought when he reflexly put his guard up with the Gauntlet to parry the swing.


    But no, the Gauntlet was successfully stopped the swing.


    ¡°Huh!?¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    The greatsword Jirjax was managed to break through the reflect ability of the Gauntlet and cut about half an inch deep on the Gauntlet, also burn mark from the greatsword¡¯s heat around the cut.


    But, it''s not enough to slice through it.


    Cain jumped back to make a distance and from the raging lightning sparks.


    Bartega just stood there. He looked shocked, but soon he grinned ear to ear.


    ¡°Huhu¡­ hahahahahaha!¡± he laughed like a madman.


    ¡°Never in my lifetime, in my Hot Thunder Beast state, something or someone was able to defend against my attack!!!¡±


    Cain didn''t pay attention to Bartega. He just looked at the Gauntlet.


    Then, blue flame rose up from the cut for three seconds. When the flame diminished, the cut was no longer there, even the burn mark. It was all clean.


    ¡°(This!? This is the same ability as Delmourga¡¯s healing ability!)¡± gasped Cain in thought.


    Bartega¡¯s expression had gotten more wilder after seeing the cut on the Gauntlet got burned clean by the blue flame.


    ¡°Interesting! Oh, I¡¯m not gonna sell it! I¡¯ll use it myself!¡± said Bartega, he clearly had gotten more interested to the Gauntlet.


    ¡°(Weird, shouldn''t it requires bones to heal? Like Delmourga did. Wait¡­ don''t tell me it took MY bones to heal itself!?)¡± Cain totally ignored Bartega and lost in thought.


    ¡°You should focus to your opponent, kid!!!¡±


    Bartega leaped and swung down Jirjax with his full force.


    ¡°No choice but to bet on it!¡± Cain took a stance as he shouted. Caim reacted with an uppercut, not to Bartega, but to his greatsword.


    Bartega realized Cain was targeting his greatsword. But when he was about to do Zap Swing, Cain also anticipated it. Burning blue flame shot out from the rear part of the gauntlet, boosting his uppercut power and speed.


    The explosive power from the Gauntlet and Cain¡¯s accuracy clashed with Jirjax.


    The Azure Bone Gauntlet broke the greatsword Jirjax to pieces.


    ¡°Wha-!?¡±


    Cain threw another punch with his right hand.


    Bartega ate the punch in the face and was thrown into Farferis Knights crowd.


    Cain¡¯s right hand got more whipped burn marks because of the lightning sparks.


    And Farferis Knights tasted it too. Because the lightning sparks were still enveloping Bartega''s body when he was thrown to the crowd, it electrocuted the Farferis Knights around him.


    ¡°Akh!¡±


    ¡°Uugh!!!¡±


    ¡°Arrgh! G-go away!¡±


    The Farferis Knights panicked. Scattered away from where Bartega landed.


    Bartega just casually got up while the lightning sparks were still enveloping his body.


    He looked at his broken greatsword. ¡°Fuck! You broke my Jirjax!¡± said Bartega. He was angry.


    Suddenly, a blue light flashed from the throne direction.


    They shifted their attention to the light¡¯s origin


    ¡°It worked!¡± Calbot held up the staff.


    Calbot and the Sun Knight Order managed to get close enough to the throne for triggering the Staff of Mgre¡¯s ability.


    Another blue light flashed from the crystal on the staff. Three times the crystal flashed the lights. Then, the blue light illuminated the room.


    All the fight in the room had stopped.


    ¡°What is this light?¡± both Sun Knight Order and Farferis Knights were confused as they stopped to attack each other.


    Even Jared and Kaurev stopped their fight.


    King Termura stood up, his hands were trembling. ¡°Impossible! It was just a legend!¡±


    King Termura was wide-eyed seeing the illuminating staff. He was aware that was the Staff of Mgre. He had seen in it in the book. But he did not realize it until the Staff shone.

 Chapter 22 - The Power of Willbender

    ¡°Yeah, uncle! This is the Staff of Mgre!¡± Calbot¡¯s face brimmed with astonishment.


    The crystal¡¯s light radius was getting smaller, from across the room to about twice the size of the crystal, then it stayed in that size.


    King Termura couldn''t say anything. He was just too shocked seeing the legend was real, and thinking his throne would be taken away from him. To the rightful owner.


    Calbot felt the staff was lighter after the light burst.


    ¡°(The book said, I can do voice command.)¡± thought Calbot.


    ¡°Alright! Ahem!¡± he cleared his throat.


    ¡°Uncle, sit!¡± he said.


    King Termura sat his body down on the throne. No struggle was seen in his movement.


    ¡°Wha-what!?¡± King Termura¡¯s face became grim.


    ¡°Oops! Uncle you can¡¯t say a word until I allow it.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°!!?¡± only Termura¡¯s expression said it all. Anger, rage and fear.


    ¡°I can''t believe it worked!¡± said Calbot after he tasted the power of Willbender.


    ¡°Uwoooo!!!¡± The Sun Knight Order cheered Calbot. It was a victory cry.


    Nobles around Termura were confused. Even some of them already ran with tail between their legs.


    Farferis Knights were also confused to what just happened.


    ¡°Now¡­ uncle, order your troops to stop.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± King Termura gritted his teeth, trying to resist the Willbender. But, he just couldn''t.


    Then, King Termura ordered the knights to cease all the fighting.


    ¡°Good grief, he made it.¡± Cain saw all of that. Of course that was the work of Calbot, or rather, the Staff of Mgre.


    But when he looked at Bartega¡¯s direction, he was no longer there. Only the remains of Jirjax were scattered on the ground.


    ¡°Oh, well¡­¡± he shrugged. Cain thought it was no use to go for him, so he sat this one down.


    ¡°Tch!¡± Kaurev clenched his fist.


    ¡°We won, Kaurev. Stand down.¡± said Jared.


    Holding back his anger and disappointment, Kaurev walked away leaving Jared. Jared said nothing as Kaurev vanished into the knights crowd.


    ¡°King Calbot! King Calbot!¡± The Sun Knight Order cheered the Prince soon to be King.


    After that, King Termura ordered to gather the people of Haneama. He announced that he would step down from the throne, and Farferis Kingdom would become a slave-free Kingdom like its neighbor, Arozora.


    While doing so, he revealed to the public that he had conspirations with the nobles to side with him so the Prince would not succeed the throne in the past. This made some of the nobles fled out from Farferis. They were afraid of the consequences, but some stayed, resigning to receive the new ruler¡¯s judgement.


    With this, the people of Farferis would get a new King, their true King. Their lives weren''t bad nor good under King Termura¡¯s rule. They wished with Prince Calbot¡¯s rule, they would a have better life. Although some of the people would riot because they refused the idea of slave eradication, it would indeed sharply decrease the income of the Kingdom, as their main income was from the slave trade. But Calbot had already planned ahead, he would get help and support from the neighboring Kingdoms to help him rebuild Farferis. Especially from the slave-free Kingdoms.


    That day, Calbot almost executed his own uncle, Meira stopped him, and asked to forgive his uncle. She did not want Calbot to repeat the tradition of Hanea royal family, blood for the throne. She wanted him to be a better King.


    Calbot granted Meira¡¯s request, in return, Termura and his family lost their status as noble of Farferis and would live among the commoners. Also, 80% of his wealth was confiscated by the Kingdom.


    ...


    The night after they retook the throne, they celebrated their victory in the Palace, in the guest wing to be exact, that place wasn''t touched by today''s event. So no rubbles, no burned marks, no crumbled walls in there.


    They also invited anyone. Knights, nobles or commoners were welcomed.


    There, Calbot socialized his plans for slave eradication to the guests.


    While Calbot was occupied by some of the guests, Cain and the Sun Knight Order were enjoying the party.


    ¡°And then! He summoned a giant Spirit Beast that looked like a snake! Four times bigger than Kiri¡¯s Yellowback Great Bear!¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± said Kiri, the Sun Knight that summoned the Yellowback Great Bear back in Hanearian¡¯s Rest.


    ¡°Oooh!!!¡±


    Some of the Sun Knights were telling the guests that they got help from a certain person, they were talking about Cain.


    ¡°Look at that, you¡¯re famous already! Hahah!¡± said Jared while eating some snacks. He sat with Cain across the storyteller.


    ¡°Am I? I¡¯m not really enjoying the attention though.¡± Cain sipped his drink, red tea.His right rand was bandaged, covered his wounds


    ¡°Hah! At least you have to enjoy this moment! This is the proudest day of Sun Knight Order!¡± said Jared


    ¡°Cain!¡± Rinrai and Marna approached them.


    ¡°Oh hi! You guys are okay?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Yeah, though some of the Order didn''t make it.¡± Rinrai lowered his head.


    Sun Knight Order had some casualties, it wasn''t high, just a few. This was actually lower than they expected, if Cain weren¡¯t here, they probably would have been butchered by the Old Beast.


    ¡°Quit the gloomy face, Rinrai! We feast tonight also for our fallen brethren!¡± Jared stood up with a mug of mead on his hand.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Sun Knight Order!, Let us toast for our fallen brethren! May their soul embraced by the Goddess!¡± said Jared.


    He raised his drink, and drank it all in one gulp. Sun Knight Order also toasted their drinks.


    ¡­


    Cain slipped away after they started dancing again like in the camp.


    ¡°(They¡¯re really hard at battle, but they partied harder!)¡± Cain shrugged.


    Cain walked around looking for a cheap inn. Like in the Aroum City, Haneama City at night was also restless. And the city was actually calm after what happened. Thanks to Sun Knight Order, they kept the collateral damage at minimum when they fought to the Palace.


    Cain rented a room for two nights at an inn. After a bath, he consumed three Hineru stems.


    ¡°What will I do tomorrow?¡± he was munching the stems.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe say my goodbye to them then depart for Krevias? I don''t have to do quest from Hunter Guild for money anyway¡­¡±


    He had the diamonds he picked from Mysticbone Hall after all.


    ¡°Oh well, I¡¯ll just see tomorrow.¡± Cain hit the bed after a glass of water.


    ¡­


    In the morning, Haneama Palace was busy. Because Calbot had a lot of homework.


    Calbot started to order the remaining Markers to release their slaves, and gave them compensation for it. Also applied for the people who had slaves.


    About 40% of Farferis people owned slaves, thus he would do this slave eradication step by step. He already asked his neighbor Kingdoms for support. Fortunately, most of the slave owners were the nobles, the nobles that sided with Termura. So, Calbot gave them two options, to be banished, or released their slaves for free.


    Also, Calbot gave the newly freed slaves jobs, in the Palace or at the public facilities. He let Meira handled it, because he knew Meira knew them best. Surprisingly, many of the people also took care of them, hired them to become paid worker instead.


    Jared also recruited most of the combat slaves to fill in Farferis Knights ranks, they were treated well this time.


    As for the Farferis Knights, few of them were dishonorably discharged and banished from Farferis. And a lot of them were sent to other cities and remote villages. The rest were pardoned after they proved they were not Termura¡¯s supporter.


    The wealth of the nobles that did not fled was confiscated in half by the Kingdom. They also had to pay taxes with twice of the normal amount for 10 years. Calbot took a different approach for his uncle¡¯s former supporter. He did not want to just blindly execute them, if he could still use them for the good of his Kingdom, why not he said.


    Cain went to the Palace. Some guards stood in front of the half repaired gate. They immediately opened the gate when they saw him. The guards had been notified about him. He could enter the Palace as he please.


    On his way to the Throne Room, the damage caused by yesterday''s fight was being repaired.


    ¡°Ah, Cain. You want to meet Prince Calbot? King Calbot, I mean.¡± some of the Sun Knights greeted him.


    ¡°Yeah, is he busy?¡±


    ¡°No, he is waiting for you to come in fact. He is near the throne.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Alright! See ya!¡±


    The knights slightly bowed.


    In the Throne Room, he saw the aftermath of the fight done to the environment. Especially his fight. It was quite messy.


    ¡°Caaiiiiin!¡± Calbot waved from across the room, accompanied by Meira and Jared.


    ¡°Yo! How¡¯s Farferis?¡± said Cain casually while approaching them.


    ¡°We just retook it yesterday, of course it hasn¡¯t stable yet.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Sorry if I made your Throne Room quite messy.¡± Cain smirked.


    ¡°Yeah, you totally went all out, eh? You are really strong,¡± responded Calbot. ¡°You know, we could use people like you in Farferis.¡± Calbot winked to Cain.


    ¡°I bet Jared is enough for this Kingdom, right jared?¡± said Cain. He looked to Jared.


    ¡°Actually, King Calbot is right, Farferis needs someone like you. General position is empty now, we don''t know Kaurev¡¯s whereabout.¡± Jared crossed his arm on his chest.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Meira nodded in agreement.


    ¡°See, Cain? And I¡¯m not the King yet, Jared.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Hahah, no. I don''t like being tied to a certain Kingdom.¡± Cain scratched his head.


    ¡°I see. Well, you are a Hunter after all, they¡¯re bound to be free.¡± Calbot sighed.


    ¡°Oh yeah, Cain, I promised you rewards, right? Well, actually I can¡¯t use the money from the treasury because I¡¯m officially not the King of Farferis yet. And also we must compensate the Markers and some of the slave owners, that¡¯s the priority.¡± Calbot continued.


    Farferis was actually quite resourceful, it had good routes for traders, and quite safe for them. Weirdly, they never expanded their military power with such resource. Instead, they allocated them into economy prospect and the Kingdom''s stability.


    ¡°Oh, actually, I plan to not receive this reward. I took a good amount of diamonds at Hanearian¡¯s rest.¡± said Cain. He¡¯s not really bothered by it because he had his own pocket.


    Calbot, Jared and Meira looked at each other.


    ¡°You¡¯re a Gravel rank Hunter, aren''t you?¡± Jared frowned.


    ¡°What? What is Gravel rank? I don''t think there¡¯s a rank called by that.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Yep, he totally is.¡± said Calbot.


    Meira also nodded in agreement.


    They looked at Cain with a weird and ¡®i see¡¯ look.


    ¡°What? Why are you guys looking at me like that??¡± said Cain.


    Jared sighed. ¡°Gravel or Grass rank is the three lowest ranks of Hunters.¡± he said.


    ¡°Ahh! I see,¡± Cain recalled what Fay, the guild administrator said when he registered. ¡°What¡¯s the next rank?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°River rank is the second, and Cloud rank is the third. But the highest rank, Diamond, isn''t included in the Cloud rank, it¡¯s just Diamond rank.¡± explained Jared.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see. Indeed I¡¯m an Aquamarine rank Hunter.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I thought you would be at least a Spinel, River rank, Cain.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°I just became a Hunter maybe one or two weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°That explained it.¡± said Meira.


    ¡°How do you know this, Jared? You¡¯re not a Hunter.¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Some of the Sun Knights are ex Hunter, so I know a bit about them.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Cain nodded. ¡°Oh, back to the reward, it¡¯s cool if I refuse it, right?¡± Cain asked Calbot.


    ¡°Are you sure? I mean, the very purpose of joining the Hunter guild is for money, right? I never saw a Hunter who refused a reward, even a tiny rewards like the rewards that could only buy them one meal.¡± Calbot crossed his arms.


    ¡°It¡­ was. Not anymore. Besides, you weren¡¯t hired me, you asked me, for help, right?¡± Cain smiled.


    ¡°... Was? But-¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure he has reasons,¡± Meira cut Calbot¡¯s words. ¡°But we shouldn''t pry, right Cain?¡± said Meira. She smiled to Cain then looked to Calbot and Jared.


    Cain smiled her back.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Calbot sighed. ¡°But! At least stay in Haneama until the Coronation Day. I won''t take no for that.¡± he said.


    ¡°Coronation Day?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°There will be a Coronation Day, where I will officially take the throne, two weeks from now. Also, the neighboring Kingdoms will be invited. There is so much to be done.¡± grumbled Calbot.


    ¡°I see¡­ two weeks, eh? Well, I¡¯m not in a hurry, so that''s fine.¡±


    ¡°Great! Also, I thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for us.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°But I just helped out a little.¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°You¡¯re too modest, Cain. If it were not for you, I¡¯d be a slave forever.¡± Meira smiled.


    ¡°True, actually, when the Old Beast appeared, I¡¯ve lost hope. There¡¯s no way we could win,¡± Jared had a bitter smile on his face. ¡°But you proved me wrong. You even killed Ulsarzath.¡± said Jared.


    ¡°See? You¡¯ve done a lot for us. We thank you for it.¡± Calbot smiled.


    ¡°... No problem,¡± Cain also smiled. ¡°By the way, where is the Old Beast?¡±


    ¡°My scouts reported that they see someone resembling the Old Beast was heading west,¡± Jared replied. ¡°This is the first time I see him ran away from a battle, you smacked him hard, huh?¡± he continued.


    They all laughed.


    ¡°I see, will he be a threat?¡± another question by Cain.


    ¡°Doubt it. Now, Termura is too poor to pay him. He doesn¡¯t work for free. So the contract is no more.¡± said Jared.


    ¡°Great.¡± responded Cain.


    They also talked about the Staff of Mgre. Callbot planned to destroy it. Cain did not ask the reason, it was no longer his business.


    After their talks, Calbot offered Cain to stay at Haneama Palace for his two weeks stay, meals included. Which accepted by Cain gratefully. With this, he didn''t have to worry about lodging and meals expense.

 Chapter 23 - A Stalker from Farferis

    In the next day, Cain went to the Marel Forest. He was training there, honing his techniques and magic.


    After his battle with Bartega, he realized, the world was vast. Strong people could be anywhere. Even though he already tasted the power of Valfikr¡¯s strongest, still, he wanted to be prepared. He believed, there would be more someone like Bartega, or something, that would cross path with him.


    He didn¡¯t even know how strong the infamous Silvers were. He only heard they had many great accomplishments. Some even said Bagulv Caral could be the next ruler of Arozora when King Illigo was too old to fight. Maybe for a few decades later.


    Igo took the throne when he was 35 years old, had been ruling Arozora since. Countless of challengers had challenged him on the Ruler¡¯s Truth and failed. Now he was 59 years old, he still had half of his lifespan.


    People from Valfikr had a long lifespan among other races from other continents. Valfikr¡¯s average was 120 to 150 years. Except Hodu Tribe, that tribe was gifted with the longest human lifespan in Nazula that ever recorded. Up to 400 years.


    Thinking about all of that, made Cain couldn''t wait for his next destination, Krevias.


    He also had gotten more eager to see what was beyond the Valfikr Continent.


    ...


    In the forest, Cain felt something or someone was watching him. But he always ignored it, because he felt no evil intent from his stalker.


    Cain also tested his poison immunity. He used some poisonous mushrooms around the forest. From mild to lethal doses, consumed and put into a wound, sliced by himself.


    Gomara¡¯s way to acquire the absolute poison resistant body had been proven successful. Cain only felt a little tingling sensation for a sec on his wound even from a lethal dose. Poison wouldn''t worry him now. Except corrosive-type poison.


    He saved the remaining Hineru stems. Because of the blood catalyst, it made Cain¡¯s Hineru stems deadly outside his use.


    The stem could last long because it was dried up. He saved them for future use, if needed. It had a taste like, earthy. Cain also thought about using it for an emergency ration, again, if needed.


    He also used the herbs in the forest to heal the wounds on his right hand. The Book of Gomara taught him about alchemy, but Cain still only understood a little of it. Between practicing techniques, learning magic, and studying about creatures and lost knowledges, he hardly had times for it. Besides, because Igo wasn''t proficient at alchemy, he only taught the Trio the basic of alchemy.


    But even with only basic alchemy formula, Cain¡¯s right hand was already fully healed just within 3 days. He couldn¡¯t imagine what Gomara¡¯s complex formula could do if he learnt it. But that¡¯s for another time he thought.


    Cain¡¯s goal before the two weeks wait over was to acquire the Abyss Lurker technique. To do that, he went to the pitch black cave where the Terrapede dwelled.


    He spent an entire week there. After he learnt it, he challanged the Terrapede to test and master the Abyss Lurker. He won easy because even the Terrapede was dangerous, Abyss Lurker helped him greatly as it also detected hidden Terrapede¡¯s presence.


    However, He did not kill it. Even though materials from a rare monster was fetch a high price in the market, he wasn''t greedy with it. Igo taught him to only take what he needed from the nature and conserved it.


    Cain decided to go back to Haneama after he mastered the Abyss Lurker.


    When he came out of the cave, he felt something was eyeing him from the bushes.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ the same one from the forest. It has been waiting for me to come out from the cave?¡±


    Cain decided to confront his stalker. He was walking towards the bushes when something came out of the bushes.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    It was an otter. A small otter.


    ¡°Meip! Meip!¡± it was happily circling around Cain.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°An otter? Huh? Wait! Are you the one from before!?¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡± It stopped like it was agreeing to what Cain said.


    Cain squatted and petted the otter. It enjoyed Cain¡¯s touch.


    ¡°Good to see you¡¯re recovered.¡± said Cain. (Gomara¡¯s formula is amazing indeed!) thought he.


    ¡°All right then, I should go.¡± Cain stood up.


    ¡°Meip? Meip! Meip!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What?¡±


    The otter scratched Cain¡¯s pants.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ are you hungry?¡±


    The otter shook its head.


    ¡°Err¡­ you want me to follow you?¡±


    It shook its head again.


    ¡°... You want to come with me?¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡± The otter seemed to agree.


    ¡°¡­ but wait¡­ you understood what I¡¯m saying!?¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    ¡°That means yes?¡±


    ¡°Meip! Meip!¡±


    Cain scratched his head.


    ¡°Oh well, as long as you understand what I¡¯m saying. Let''s go!¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    The otter happily followed Cain through the forest.


    ¡­


    Cain arrived in Haneama City when the sun was almost set. He did not have problem at the gate because the otter wasn''t a dangerous animal.


    If it were a dangerous animal or a beast, he could always register it as a pet or a guard beast. Otter could be viewed just like cat, because they were just harmless.


    It was 3 days left to the Coronation Day. The city was being decorated to celebrate the day and to welcome the guest Kingdoms.


    Cain went to the Palace to check up on Calbot. The repair was almost done, just needed a bit polishing here and there.


    ¡°Cain? Where have you been?¡± asked Calbot when he saw Cain. He looked busy with papers on his hand. He stood near the throne. Meira and Jared were nowhere to be found.


    ¡°Been training in the forest for the past week.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Eehh¡­ I thought you were having fun or something.¡±


    Cain laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Cain?¡± Meira appeared from behind him.


    ¡°Hi Meira.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡± Meira looked at the otter.


    ¡°This? Oh, it¡¯s been following me. Well, short story I saved its life.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡± it sounded to agree to what Cain said.


    ¡°It¡¯s so cute! Can I hold it?¡± said Meira.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Meira picked up the otter and she turned around the otter, right and left.


    ¡°It¡¯s a young Barferr Otter.¡± said Meira.


    ¡°Barferr?¡± Cain was curious.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a mix from river otter and southern red otter. It won''t grow much, but it lives longer than any other kind of otter. ¡± she held it on her chest and stroked it. It enjoyed being stroked.


    ¡°Oh, I see. Didn''t know you are so knowledgeable about animals, Meira.¡± said Cain. The Book of Gomara only taught him about dangerous beasts and rare creatures. Not animals in the wild as it was a common knowledge.


    ¡°I have lived a nomad life before, often stayed on wilderness,¡± Meira smiled. ¡°But even though otter is known friendly to human, it¡¯s my first time seeing an otter actually following a human, not in a cage.¡± said Meila.


    ¡°Maybe it just got bored in the forest.¡± Calbot shrugged.


    ¡°Or, it attached to Cain after he saved it. Have you give it a name, Cain? It¡¯s a male by the way.¡± said Meira.


    ¡°Huh? Name? No, not yet. Should I?¡± Cain scratched his head.


    ¡°Of course, do you plan to call it ¡°Otter¡± forever?¡± Calbot shrugged again.


    ¡°Err¡­ okay¡­ hmm¡­ do you happen to know what¡¯s Farferis local tongue of stalker?¡± asked Cain to Calbot and Meira.


    Common language of Valfikr Continent was called Vikr Tongue, it had been used as the standard language in the continent when the continent was unified and ruled by a prosperous Kingdom for a long time thousands years ago. When the Kingdom crumbled, Vikr Tongue remained as the standard language. But many Kingdoms were still using their local language sometimes.


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Beil¡¯. Why?¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Well, he stalked me before, and he¡¯s from Farferis. So...¡±


    ¡°Ooh! That¡¯s a good one, Cain!¡± Calbot snapped his finger.


    ¡°How is it, little one? Beil?¡± Meira gently rubbed the otter in the head, still holding him on her chest.


    ¡°Mee~eip¡±


    ¡°I think he likes it.¡± said Meira.


    ¡°Yep, agree.¡± Cain nodded.


    ...


    After that, they had dinner together. Calbot told Cain that some Kingdoms would attend the Coronation Day, including Arozora.


    ¡°(Will I see the old man? Well, I¡¯ll see in a few days.)¡± thought Cain.


    Cain asked for information about artefact or magic item expert in Farferis to them. He specifically asked someone with a real knowledge.


    As he knew, the Azure Bone Gauntlet came from an unknown age. So he couldn''t rely on an ordinary item appraisal services in Haneama.


    Calbot said there was such an expert in Harnow, a town next to Haneama. There was an academy that studied about artefact and some kind. It was quite close to Haneama. Only three hours long by carriage.


    Cain had not used the Azure Bone Gauntlet since his battle against Bartega. He worried that the gauntlet might actually used his own bones to energize itself. He couldn''t let his bones sucked dry by the bracelet. That¡¯s why he needed an expert on this matter.

 Chapter 24 - Town of Harnow

    Cain went to the town of Harnow in the next day. He left early in the morning so he could return to Haneama at least in the evening. The Coronation Day was the day after afterall.


    He left Beil with Meira, because Meira insisted. Beil seemed not objected as well.


    Harnow town was not affected by the recent event. It¡¯s quite a lively town.


    He went to said academy called Gaf Namoro Academy. Cain found it easy because the building was near the entrance gate to the town.


    ¡°Welcome! What can we do for you, young man?¡± Cain was greeted at the academy gate by an old man with a goatee beard. He wore a green robe with blue ornament on it.


    ¡°I was told there are artifact experts in here, can I see one?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Ooh, come to appraise items?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, more or less.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, come, come, follow me. The name¡¯s Kasimm. What should I call you?¡±


    Cain introduced himself and followed Kasimm.


    They walked through the gate and entered the academy. Some of teens with robes were passing by. They were the students of Gaf Namoro Academy.


    Cain, whose education did not come from an academy or school, this was his first time came to such place.


    ¡°Hoo¡­ so this is an academy.¡± he peeked a bit to a room filled with students from a window as they passed by.


    ¡°Are you interested in rolling to our academy, Cain?¡± Kasimm couldn''t help to ask because he saw Cain was a bit excited. ¡°Of course we have no age restriction for whoever wants an education.¡± said Kasimm.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ no, I already have my education.¡±


    Kasimm just smiled and nodded. If Cain told him he was educated and taught by the Mighty Igo, Kasimm wouldn''t believe him.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± they stopped in front of a door.


    There was ¡®Master Aslein¡¯ written on a plank above the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your business, Cain.¡± With that, Kasimm left Cain and went back to the academy gate.


    ¡°Come in.¡± a voice came from behind the door.


    Cain opened the door and entered the room. The room was well lighted with the sunlight from a big window across the room. The room wasn''t big nor small, with a complete set of sofa it looked more like a place to relax rather than an appraisal service place. But the artifacts and weird items that decorated the walls were there to deny it.


    Behind an antique wooden desk, an elderly man stood up from his chair and shook hands with Cain. He wore a black robe.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Cain.¡± introduced Cain.


    ¡°Master Aslein.¡± The elder smiled. ¡°So, where is this item you want to appraise? Be warned though, my services are expensive.¡±


    This elder who introduced himself as Master Alsein looked eager to see what Cain brought while maintaining his excitement as he warned Cain about the cost.


    ¡°Hm¡­ sorry, I didn''t bring much money, but how about I trade with this.¡± Cain showed him some diamonds.


    ¡°Diamonds? And a high quality ones? Hmm¡­ this very much will do,¡± Master Aslein only glanced at the diamonds, yet he could already tell the diamonds were high quality ones. ¡°So, where is this item?¡± he didn''t immediately take the diamonds, instead, he asked about the item.


    ¡°This.¡± Cain showed his left hand to Master Aslein.


    ¡°Hmm? What? This bracelet?¡± Master Aslein observed the bracelet. ¡°Hmm¡­ this looks ordinary, but I feel a faint trace of magic¡­ oh? Made of bone? Interesting¡­¡±


    Master Aslein lost in his observation.


    ¡°Err¡­ Master Aslein? How is it?¡±


    ¡°Ah!? A-ahem! Well, can you take it off?¡±


    ¡°Nope, I can''t. It drilled through my wrist.¡±


    ¡°Drilled!?¡±


    ¡°It attached itself to my hand then drilled through my wrist.¡±


    ¡°Attached itself? Hmm¡­ then, cursed item? Possibility¡­ yet there''s no malicious aura on it.¡± said Master Aslein.


    Cursed items were incredible and rare items that gave the wearer tremendous strength. But in order to use it, the wearer had to give something in return. Each cursed item had different of what the wearer must gave in order to use it.


    Most common was blood and the rarest was the soul of the bearer. The power it gave was also no joke, the strongest of cursed item that ever recorded was used during ancient times, a certain heroine sunk an entire continent to prevent a calamity to devour the whole world in exchange of her life.


    It was also not hard to identify a cursed item, usually it shrouded by dark and malicious aura.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°What does it do?¡± Master Aslein observed the bracelet closely.


    ¡°It enhances my ability and such. Also a weapon.¡±


    ¡°A weapon? Hmm¡­ then, what do you give in for it?¡±


    ¡°Actually that¡¯s what I want to know myself. I fed it my energy, but I suspect also my bones.¡±


    ¡°Heh, nasty one¡­ probably just a cursed item with low abilities. Wait, you said a weapon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, a gauntlet.¡±


    ¡°Mind to show me?¡±


    ¡°Alright... here it is.¡± Cain a bit reluctant because his very bones could be used for the Gauntlet even it¡¯s just a bit, but he had to know any information about the bracelet. He poured his energy to the bracelet.


    Then, blue flame appeared from the bracelet and wrapped Cain¡¯s left hand in no time.


    ¡°Blue flame!?¡± Master Aslein was surprised to see the blue flame.


    The blue flame revealed a gauntlet.


    ¡°Interesting! It morphed into a gauntlet with a blue flame transition!¡± Master Aslein inspected the gauntlet from its finger to elbow parts.


    ¡°Not only it looks strong, it also has an intimidating form.¡± he said.


    ¡°So, do you know about it?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s Arm of Demon Gauntlet. A cursed item as expected. Come here.¡±


    ¡°(Huh?)¡± Cain frowned a bit upon hearing the name.


    Master Aslein showed Cain an old thick book he took from a bookshelf.


    He opened the book and showed a page that described the Arm of Demon Gauntlet. But had no pictures of it.


    ¡°It says, it¡¯s made from the bones of Grizzly Demonic Gorilla, a rare beast. It sucks the wearer¡¯s bone little by little. Though it did not mention about it had an original form of a bracelet or blue flame.¡± said Master Aslein.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don''t think it is. I know its name is Azure Bone Gauntlet.¡± Cain expressed his disappointment as the item appraiser didn¡¯t know the gauntlet. But he couldn''t blame him, even the Book of Gomara said it was a forgotten item. The information about it or even the knowledge of its existence could be already long gone.


    ¡°Huh? You know its name?¡± asked Master Aslein.


    Cain nodded.


    ¡°Why didn''t you say it sooner¡­¡± Master Aslein was flipping the book, looking for the name Cain mentioned.


    ¡°There¡¯s no mention here about Azure Bone Gauntlet. Are you sure it¡¯s its name? How do you even know its name in the first place?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ someone told me that.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me if I sound arrogant, but I¡¯d like to meet that someone if he knows something I don''t know about artifacts,¡± said Master Aslein. ¡°But that may be true, Arm of Demon doesn''t have an affinity towards flame. Also this is the first time I see a blue flame.¡±


    ¡°... So?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not Arm of Demon¡­ and the bracelet form is really old. Hmm¡­¡± Master Aslein rubbed his beard.


    ¡°Actually, I don''t really care about what it is, what I really want to know is, does it consume my bones when it transforms?¡± Cain already knew what the gauntlet was, but the Book of Gomara did not provide the answer he needed.


    ¡°Hrrmmm¡­ if only you could take it off from your hand, I would gladly to buy it. Fine, fine. Come here.¡± grumbled the old man.


    Master Aslein showed him a huge cylinder tube in the next room. Unlike the previous room, only the tube decorated the room. The tube stood tall in the center of the room, about 10 feet tall. The tube also had a door with the size of a full grown man.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°This is Barat Metric Tube. An artifact from a long lost civilization. It can measure weight precisely. Even a speck of dust can be measured!¡±


    ¡°Now, get inside.¡± Master Aslein continued.


    ¡°How does this thing work?¡± asked Cain while entering the tube.


    ¡°I¡¯ll compare the weight before and after your bracelet transforms,¡± said Master Aslein. ¡°Oh yeah, almost forgot, you need to retransform it two or three times. Do you mind?¡±


    ¡°Ugh... alright, no choice then,¡± Cain sighed. ¡°But are sure it¡¯s gonna work?¡±


    ¡°This tube can measure even an atom. Bone mass? Easy peasy. Besides, more data is better.¡±


    ¡°What? Even an atom?¡± Cain¡¯s head popped out from the almost closed door.


    ¡°Just get in already and leave this to me.¡± Master Aslein pushed the door, forcing Cain¡¯s head back to the tube.


    Then, he activated the tube. The tube was glowing for a minute as the bottom part of the tube was opened. Blueish smoke was blown from it, with ¡®pshhh¡¯ sound.


    ¡°Done?¡± asked Cain from inside the tube. It was dark inside the tube before it was activated. Runes were glowing on the inner tube wall when Master Aslein was activating the tube.


    ¡°Not yet. Now turn your gauntlet back.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ done.¡±


    Master Aslein activated the tube again, this time, greenish smoke was blown.


    ¡°Now, transform it again¡­¡±


    The process was repeated about three times.


    ¡°It¡¯s done, you can get out,¡± Master Aslein opened the tube¡¯s door without looking inside. ¡°Let''s go back to my office.¡± said he.


    Cain came out from the tube and followed Master Aslein back to the office room.


    When they got back to the office, the view was changed, before, it was only the old man and a room full of artifacts. Now there was a woman. She stood near the sofa while looking at the artifacts on the wall shelves.


    ¡°Now, it''s better.¡± said Cain, talked to himself.


    Actually, Cain already knew someone came, but he said nothing to Master Aslein as he was inside the tube. And kinda forgot after that.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± said Master Aslein to the woman.


    She turned around with an elegant and sharp movement. She was a beautiful woman. Her hair was black, choppy layered with side swept short bang. She wore a sleeveless long coat with fur on the collar.


    ¡°Done with my request?¡± asked the woman.


    ¡°It¡¯s finished. But, would you mind waiting a minute, Miss Fe?¡± said Master Aslein.


    The woman who was called Fe glanced at Cain a moment. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± with that, she sat on the sofa. Crossed her legs. Revealing her smooth thighs as she wore a short shorts combined with knee high stockings.


    Master Aslein turned to Cain. ¡°Alright, You should get your result the day after tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I won''t get the result today?¡±


    ¡°No, should be tomorrow I believe. And unfortunately, tomorrow is the Coronation Day for our new King, therefore I won''t be here.¡±


    ¡°Are you gonna go to the Palace?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Probably, it¡¯s not everyday Haneama Palace is open for everyone. Besides, I wanna see myself our new King, said he¡¯s gonna eradicate the slave system.¡± said Master Aslein.


    Haneama Palace wasn''t open for public unless there''s a special occasion such as this, urgent matter, or any big day.


    ¡°In that case, could you bring the result tomorrow? I will find you in the Palace.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Sounds good. Alright then, I will take the payment tomorrow.¡± said Master Aslein.


    Cain nodded. ¡°Then, thank you, I''ll be on my way.¡± when Cain turned around and walked to the door, he glanced to the woman a moment then proceeded to exit the office.


    He went back straight to Haneama after he bought some snacks.

 Chapter 25 - The Coronation Day

    Cain arrived in Haneama Palace at night. When he was at the gate, Beil ran and jumped at him.


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    ¡°Woaah!¡± Cain caught Beil on his arms. ¡°I bet you smell the snacks in my bag!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Mee~eip.¡±


    Cain opened his waist bag and gave some snacks to Beil.


    ¡°Beiillll.¡± a voice came to them. It was Jared¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Ah, there you are.¡± said Jared.


    ¡°¡®Sup, Jared?¡±


    ¡°Yoo, heard you went to Harnow.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just got back. I see you¡¯re taking care of my friend here.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I am, he ran out when he was playing at the fountain with Meira. I was near, then she asked me to find him. Guess he knew you¡¯d come.¡±


    Beil stuffed his mouth with the snacks.


    ¡°He is,¡± Cain petted Beil. ¡°How¡¯s the preparation for tomorrow?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Great. Some of the guests have arrived this noon.¡± Jared replied.


    ¡°Hmm yeah¡­ think I saw some expensive looking carts on my way here. Alright, I¡¯ll get some rest.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell Meira Beil is with you.¡±


    Cain nodded then left for his room and immediately rest.


    ¡­


    Cain was awoken by fireworks boom in the morning. He looked around and saw Beil at the door.


    ¡°Mee~eip.¡± Beil was scratching the door, he wanted to go out.


    After Cain opened the door and let Beil out, he took a bath and get dressed. Cain wore a light brown slim fit trench coat. He rolled up the sleeves almost to the elbow.


    He looked out from the window to the garden. His room was on the second floor and faced to a beautiful flower garden with a fountain on its center. It was the place where Meira took Beil to play.


    The garden was filled with people celebrating the Coronation Day.


    ¡°Alright, let''s check on Calbot. Let''s go, Beil.¡± said Cain.


    Beil was waiting him at the door. They left the room and went to the Throne Room. Where Calbot would get coronated.


    Haneama Palace was full of people, they looked enthusiast for their new King.


    Cain entered the Throne Room, whereas Calbot already sat on the throne. With a golden jeweled crown on his head.


    ¡°Oh Crap! I¡¯m late!?¡± Cain talked to himself.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil sounded to agree.


    A guard near the door saw Cain. Then he notified a man who held a rolled paper on his hand.


    ¡°Ahem! Attention!¡± said the man with the paper with a loud and clear voice. He was actually an announcer. He rolled out the paper he was holding.


    ¡°Master Cain of Palvaran has arrived! Please make a way!¡± said the announcer.


    Then people there moved away to give Cain a way, straight to the throne. And of course all of the attention was focused on him.


    Cain was baffled.


    ¡°Master Cain, please proceed.¡± The announcer bowed a bit.


    ¡°Wha- o-okay.¡± Cain started to walk towards the throne, with Beil beside him. ¡°(Damn it, Calbot! What are you doing!?)¡± thought Cain.


    He could feel everyone there was looking at him. He even heard them whispering.


    ¡°Who is this young man? Why is he bringing an otter? Is he a jester?¡±


    ¡°My, he¡¯s quite handsome! I wonder who is he to King Calbot.¡±


    ¡°A special guest? Palvaran? Never heard a noble from wherever is that.¡±


    Cain had a cold sweat when he had to walk through the people that was looking at him. He was walking nervously. Thankfully he didn''t trip along the way.


    When he arrived in front of the throne. He saw the people around him, with their appearance, they clearly weren''t normal nobles. Among them, King Iligo, smirked at Cain.


    Then, there she was, the Silver Rose, Ivela Caral. She wore the Kingsmight Vice Captain armor, yet her beauty shone brighter than any other women with their fancy dress in the room. She smiled a bit when their eyes met. Then, Cain shifted his gaze to Calbot.


    ¡°Congratulation, King Calbot.¡± Cain bowed a bit.


    Jared and Meira stood beside Calbot. Jared was trying really hard not to laugh.


    ¡°(That must have been Jared¡¯s idea!)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°Thank you, Cain.¡± said Calbot. Then, he stood up.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, this man before me is the greatest help I could get. He is the one who helped me reclaim the throne beside the Sun Knight Order. Not only he beat the undead skeleton source at Hanearian¡¯s Rest, he also bested the infamous mercenary called the Old Beast.¡± said Calbot.


    Calbot¡¯s words caused an uproar in the room.


    ¡°Holy crap! Old Beast!? That Old Beast!?¡±


    ¡°My, my, not only handsome! He is strong too!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true! I saw him fought toe to toe with the Old Beast when the Sun Knight Order was marching to the Palace!¡±


    The crowd had gotten calmer after the announcer asked them to. With his loud voice of course.


    ¡°Therefore, I grant Cain of Palvaran with Master Liberator Honor for his prowess to liberate the slavery in Farferis. With that, he is forever friend to Farferis Kingdom and will be always welcome to Haneama Palace. Beil also included.¡± said Calbot. He looked at the crowd then at Cain and Beil.


    Master Honor was the highest award granted by the King of Farferis. Usually granted to the Heroes or Innovators. It had higher social status than most nobles in that Kingdom. And also additional title for what they did. In this case, Cain got additional ¡®Liberator¡¯ title on his.


    The Throne Room was so lively when the crowd gave a thunderous applause to Cain¡¯s achievements.


    ¡°Interesting.¡± said the thin crowned man. He was King Givi, ruler of Hazthala Kingdom.


    Kartoma, Chieftess of Un Gu Forest Tribe, nodded in response of King Givi¡¯s remark.


    While the King of Bexlima, King Jan VI was only slow clapping.


    Cain was so confused to what just happened. He was just an ordinary man, but after he walked in to the Throne Room today, he just became a part of higher than nobles in Farferis society.


    ¡°Now, please enjoy the feast we¡¯ve been prepared for you all!¡± said Calbot without waiting for confused Cain¡¯s reply.


    ¡­


    Haneama Palace rolled out an exquisite banquet. Worthy for the guests of the King. Calbot himself mingled with the guests.


    ¡°There you are!¡±


    Cain was looking at the tasty food with Beil when an elderly man greeted him from behind.


    ¡°Hm? Oh? Master Aslein?¡± Cain turned around with some food on the plate he was holding. While Beil was stuffing his mouth with food near Cain''s feet.


    ¡°Ah! I¡¯m the one who supposed to find you, right?¡± said Cain.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, thought I didn''t know you are such an accomplished man, Master Cain.¡± said Master Aslein.


    ¡°Ah, hahaha, truth is I don''t know what to say, I rarely being on the spotlight like before. And would you please drop the ¡®Master¡¯?¡± Cain scratched his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s your title, Master Cain, not many outsiders are granted a title over the history of Farferis. Wear it proudly.¡± responded Master Aslein.


    ¡°Err¡­ alright.¡± Cain shrugged.


    ¡°Then, was it true you bested Bartega?¡± Master Aslein looked curious.


    ¡°Not really, I just broke his sword then he fled.¡±


    ¡°You broke his sword!? You broke the legendary sword Hot Steel Jirjax!?¡± Master Aslein seemed so surprised.


    ¡°Yeah, with the Gauntlet. Anyway, how about the results?¡± said Cain. He was more eager to hear the result of his bone.


    ¡°Ah! Thats right! The result is astonishing! Here!¡± Master Aslein handed Cain a rolled paper.


    Cain rolled down the rolled paper after he put down his plate on the table. ¡°What am I looking at?¡±


    ¡°Look at the red number, it¡¯s on each of your bracelet transformations.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ it''s increasing. What¡¯s that mean?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Those are your bone mass! That means your bones wasn¡¯t sucked by the Gauntlet, instead, it gave more mass. Such as minerals and calcium were given by the Gauntlet!¡± said Master Aslein enthusiastically.


    ¡°What!? Is it true!?¡± said Cain.


    Master Aslein nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll just summarize this for you; the more you use the Gauntlet, the stronger your bones will get!¡±


    ¡°is¡­ is it good?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Imagine if you use it often, how strong your bones would become!? Harder than Steel? Adamantium? Or even Archtitanium? Who knows!? The probability is infinity because it depends on you. And don''t worry about too much calcium on your body, from the data, it¡¯s clearly the bracelet is controlling and organizing your minerals and calcium in your body.¡± said Master Aslein.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Cain rubbed his chin. ¡°(Then this is indeed a jackpot!)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°This is truly a magnificent relic! It¡¯s ancient, yet it works more advanced than what we have right now. Keep it well, Master Cain.¡± said Master Aslein while looking at the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone.


    ¡°I wonder though, does it have the characteristic of an ordinary bone?¡± Master Aslein continued.


    ¡°You mean a broken bone become stronger after it heals?¡± responded Cain.


    Master Aslein nodded.


    One of the foundations of martial arts was bones,martial artists often trained until they broke their bones and let it heal naturally in order to get a stronger bones.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain was thinking maybe it''s a yes, he recalled his battle against Delmourga. Delmourga got far stronger after he healed his cracked bones. But Cain couldn''t scale it when he fought Bartega. The damage Bartega caused to the Gauntlet was far too small compared to what Cain did to Delmourga.


    ¡°Well it''s for you to find. But beware, ordinary bone also weakens when you barely to put use of it.¡± said Master Aslein.


    ¡°Noted, then, this is the payment, Master Aslein.¡± Cain took a pouch from his pocket and handed it to Master Aslein.


    ¡°Thank you, Master Cain.¡± Master Aslein nodded a bit.


    ¡°Kyaa! It¡¯s Master Cain!!¡±


    Suddenly, a bunch of girls were approaching Cain and Master Aslein, with their thick makeup and tight corset that emphasize their chest.


    ¡°Well! Time is on my way! Good luck, Master Cain!¡± Master Aslein hurriedly left him.


    ¡°(Waiiiiiitttt!!!)¡± Cain screamed within his mind.


    Within a mere secs, he was swarmed by bunch of noble girls.


    Normally, Cain would flirt with any girls, but he decided to leave that habit behind when he left Arozora. Now, he was surrounded by noble girls with a overused perfume that swarmed him with a barrage of questions.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ ladies, plea-¡± he really wanted to escape from this situation when a familiar voice was caught by his ears.


    ¡°There he is.¡± a voice came from behind the girls. An enticing voice from a woman with silver hair that tumbled to her back. It was Ivela¡¯s.


    Beside her, Igo gulped a wine from his glass.


    ¡°Alright ladies, mind if I borrow this¡­ Master Cain?¡± said Igo with a smile.


    Cain¡¯s eyes and Igo¡¯s met.


    ¡°(Good job, old man! You came at the right time!)¡±


    ¡°(No problem, kiddo!)¡±


    No words were spoken when their eyes met. Only a little nod.


    ¡°Ahem! Would you mind, ladies?¡± said Ivela to the noble girls.


    They quickly scattered before Ivela.


    Igo walked to Cain with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ve just left Arozora for a couple of weeks, and look at you now, already have a Master title in Farferis!¡±


    ¡°Well, I have a good time, including my first treasure hunting!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Ooh! You are having fun already! That''s good!¡± said Igo.


    ¡°Of course!¡± responded Cain. Then Cain looked to Ivela.


    ¡°Hi, you look good.¡± said Cain


    ¡°Hi,¡± Ivela replied with a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± a charming smile.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil appeared near them, his mouth was full of crumb.


    ¡°This is the one called Beil?¡± asked Igo.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil replied with a notion as if he said ¡®yes!¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, where¡¯s Bagulv? Haven''t seen him.¡± said Cain to Igo.


    ¡°I sent him to an expe-¡± just when Igo was about to answer Cain¡¯s question, Calbot, Meira and Jared approached them.


    ¡°And here I thought you wouldn''t surprise me more, Cain. Yet, here you are, talking casually to the strongest person in Valfikr.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Cain smiled.


    ¡°Congratulation once again, King Calbot.¡± said Igo.


    ¡°Ah, I thank you from my deepest heart, King Iligo. Thank you for your support for Farferis Kingdom.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°No problem, glad our Kingdom will support each other.¡± Igo replied.


    ¡°Indeed, and who¡¯s this lovely lady, King Iligo?¡± said Calbot. He seemed astonished to see such a beauty.


    ¡°I am Ivela Caral, Your Majesty.¡± Ivela bowed her head.


    ¡°Oh my! Silver Rose of Kingsmight!?¡± Meira was surprised.


    Ivela replied with a nod and a smile.


    ¡°And who is this fine lady you brought, King Calbot?¡± said Igo.


    ¡°Ah, this is Meira, the future Queen of Farferis.¡± said Calbot proudly.


    ¡°Ooh! I see!¡± said Igo while rubbing his beard.


    ¡°And this is Jared, the Captain of Sun Knight Order.¡± said Calbot as he introduced Jared.


    ¡°Ah, the renowned Sun Knight Order.¡± said Igo.


    ¡°Your Kingsmight is more famous than my Order, Your Majesty.¡± said Jared while smiling, he glanced to Ivela for a moment.


    Calbot turned to Cain. ¡°Now, I¡¯m very curious how do you know King Iligo, Cain?¡± asked Calbot.


    ¡°Well, King Iligo visited the orphanage where I lived when I was a kid, several times. So, you know, the habit of talking casually from a kid is still there. Fortunately, King Iligo did not mind it.¡± said Cain without spilling the crucial information about their relationship.


    Igo looked to Cain, he realized Cain partially hid his origin. He speculated the reason was to avoid a commotion.


    ¡°Indeed! He was a brat when I first met him! Hahahah!¡± Igo smacked Cain¡¯s back and laughed.


    Igo¡¯s response made the group laughed.


    Then, accompanied by Meira and Jared, Calbot talked more to Igo. They talked about the future of their Kingdom¡¯s support.


    While the Kings were busy with their talks, Cain diverted his attention to Ivela. They stood close to the Kings.


    ¡°So, how many days will you stay here?¡± said Cain while giving Ivela a glass of wine he took from the table near them.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she took the glass. ¡°Tomorrow, but who knows, you know our King often impulsively decides things.¡± she smiled then took a sip.


    ¡°Tomorrow? So fast? Thought you will stay for a few days.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°No, Kingsmight is still not effective after that wreck you¡¯ve caused. Especially my squad.¡± Ivela replied, then she smiled.


    ¡°Not so sorry ¡®bout that.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°No need. Actually, because of that, King Iligo decided to recruit with more strict requirements to avoid those with bad personalities joining.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. How¡¯s the ¡®rat¡¯? Ah, forget that, that¡¯s not my business.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re the one who gave us the information anyway,¡± Ivela sipped her wine. ¡°Well, got a lead, but when we were trying to catch the rat, he was already dead in his room. We got a dead end after that.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Too bad.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°How about you? Heard you say about treasure hunting?¡± asked Ivela.


    ¡°Yeah! It was fun! I can tell you over a din-¡± Cain stopped finishing his words. He just remembered something.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Ivela.


    Cain did not answer Ivela, he turned to the Kings instead.


    ¡°Excuse me, Your Majesties.¡± said Cain to Igo and Calbot who were chatting.


    It may be looked rude to interrupt such figures. But Cain tried to as polite as he could because there¡¯s a lot of guests here.


    ¡°What is it, Cain?¡± asked Calbot. He did not bothered by Cain¡¯s interruption.


    Meira and Jared also showed a curious expression.


    ¡°King Calbot, do you happen to know a good place to have dinner around here?¡± asked Cain.


    Calbot and Igo looked at each other, then back to Cain. ¡°Yes, I know a very nice place to have dinner around here. But for what? Don''t tell me the food at this Palace did not satisfy you.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Great! And no! It¡¯s not like that! And the answer for that, is a question for King Iligo.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Igo rubbed his beard.


    ¡°King Iligo, would you mind if I borrow your bodyguard, Lady Ivela, for tonight? I owe her a dinner.¡± said Cain calmly.


    That moment, Igo tried his best to hold his breath. But he failed. He burst to laugh. Calbot, Meira and Jared looked to each other and followed Igo, laughed but more controlled. They were so surprised to see Cain¡¯s boldness.


    Ivela, who watched this couldn''t utter any words, she simply couldn''t believe Cain¡¯s action. Moreover, it was about the dinner she promised.


    ¡°Oh Goddess, that was a good laugh,¡± said Igo while wiping his laugh tears. ¡°Well, granted.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty!? I can''t! I shouldn''t leave your side!¡± Ivela finally spoke up.


    ¡°Come on, Ivela. While we¡¯re here you should have fun at least. Besides, I¡¯m fine without any bodyguard, you know that.¡± said Igo.


    ¡°But, Your Majesty!¡± Ivela struggled against the idea of leaving her King just for a dinner.


    ¡°You don''t want to go out to dinner with me?¡± asked Cain.


    Ivela turned to Cain, and looked at him a bit. ¡°Sigh¡­ alright, dinner it is.¡± she gave up.


    Cain replied with a nod and a smile.


    ¡°You didn''t bring dress, did you? Come with me later, okay?¡± said Meira to Ivela.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Lady Meira, it¡¯s just a dinner.¡± responded Ivela.


    ¡°It¡¯s because it¡¯s a dinner. That armor of yours is a no no. Just come with me later, okay?¡± said Meira, she insisted.


    ¡°She won''t take no if she¡¯s already like that.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°True.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil sounded to agree.


    Ivela sighed. ¡°Alright, Lady Meira, I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± said she.


    After that, the party went on till the sun was set. Guests from the other Kingdoms went back to their place of stay. Some of them already rode back to their Kingdom.

 Chapter 26 - Fine Dine

    Cain and Beil went to the place Calbot had suggested, at the time for dinner Ivela agreed on.


    ¡°... Well, it is huge. It must be it.¡± Cain looked at a huge building with a fancy decoration. Fine Dine signage made of lumines crystals was hanging on the second floor.


    They entered the restaurant and looked around. It is indeed a fancy place. Floral with golden decoration filled the place. And it¡¯s well illuminated with a giant lumines crystal floating on the tall ceiling. Only few tables were occupied.


    ¡°Welcome, Master Cain! We are waiting for you.¡± an elderly man with a neat suit greeted him while bowing a bit. With two waitresses behind him also bowed.


    ¡°Ah, hi! How do you know my name? And why are you waiting for me??¡± said Cain, he was confused.


    ¡°How could we not know about a person who has been granted with Master Liberator Honor?¡± said the elderly man while smiling.


    ¡°I am I¡¯Var Haustra, the head steward of Fine Dine. We¡¯ve been notified by the Palace¡¯s servant that you will come.¡± he continued.


    ¡°Words travel fast, eh.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°We¡¯ve prepared our best table for you, please follow me,¡± said I¡¯Var. ¡°Ah, before that, would you like your pet to be bathed?¡± I¡¯Var looked at Beil then to Cain.


    ¡°Bath?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Yes, nobles occasionally bring their pet here, so we opened a pet grooming service for them.¡± said I¡¯Var.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Beil?¡± Cain looked at Beil.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil stepped forward. He looked like not objected.


    ¡°I think he wants that.¡± said Cain.


    With a nod, I¡¯Var snapped his fingers. Then, the two waitresses behind him took Beil to one of the waitress¡¯s hand, gently.


    ¡°Now, please follow me, Master Cain.¡± said I¡¯Var.


    They went to the second floor. On the second floor, the decoration was not so different from the first floor. But it had more people.


    Even though it was more crowded, the gap between each table was quite wide. So each table¡¯s conversation wouldn''t really disturb others.


    I¡¯Var took Cain to one table with two chairs past a small circular flower bed. It¡¯s a bit isolated than the rest, but it still could be seen by other tables.


    It had a little fountain behind it. With translucent sparkling blue water flowing the fountain, it made the atmosphere somehow relaxing.


    ¡°This is your table, Master Cain.¡± said I¡¯Var while pulling the chair and invited him to sit.


    The table was round with a golden colored sheet covered it, and a tableware in front of each chair. The table size was perfect for two.


    ¡°Are you sure this is the right table?? It¡¯s too fancy for me!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°The servant said, King Calbot specifically asked his favourite table for your visit, Master Cain. And this is it,¡± said I¡¯Var. ¡°Please, have a sit.¡± he tapped the pulled chair.


    ¡°O-okay.¡± Cain sat on the chair.


    ¡°And please don''t worry about anything, it¡¯s all on the house.¡± said I¡¯Var.


    ¡°Eh!? Why? Your boss knows about this??¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Treat this as my thanks for bringing an end to the slavery system in Farferis. And my older brother Norja said you took nothing in return for helping our King Calbot, just a tiny amount of rewards from Hanearian¡¯s Rest he said. You have the most noble heart than those Farferis nobles, Master Cain,¡± said I¡¯Var, then, he leaned a bit to Cain and whispered. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m the boss.¡± he then winked to Cain.


    ¡°Woaah! You?¡± Cain responded with a surprised face.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll be back with your companion when she comes.¡± said I¡¯Var while leaving, ignoring Cain¡¯s response.


    ¡°Now, he got me nervous!¡± said Cain. ¡°(And how the heck he knew Ivela is coming? Ugh, must be Calbot¡­ or Jared¡­ ugh whatever.)¡± thought Cain.


    Cain checked his appearance, he was still wearing the trench coat. He nervously waited for Ivela to come.


    Then, after fifteen minutes, he could see I¡¯Var came. Behind him, a woman with a magenta off shoulder dress walked behind him.


    As they walked to the table, all of the people there couldn''t escape their minds to the beauty behind I¡¯Var.


    Ivela walked elegantly, with a slit on her dress, her beautiful thighs made an appearance. Her ample chest and dancer-like waist under the slightly tight dress made them gulped. While her exposed flawless shoulder combined with the collarbone blew their minds away. Her skin was so fresh like it was just had been touched by the morning dew. Her nude delightful reddish pink lips were perfectly placed on her exquisite face. Her gaze was coldly warm, like a sunlight in the icefield, melted their hearts. All of those were perfected with her side swept-bangs that cascading with her medium length layered silver hair.


    Cain couldn¡¯t say any words. He was about to stand up to greet Ivela, but I¡¯Var hand signaled him to stay seated.


    ¡°This way, Lady Caral.¡± said I¡¯Var. He pulled the chair for Ivela to sit.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯Var.¡± said Ivela as she sat across from Cain.


    I¡¯Var nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you the specialty of our full course dinner, recommended by our chef.¡± said I¡¯Var.


    Both Cain and Ivela nodded.


    I¡¯Var bowed his head then left.


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°No problem, it¡¯s worth the wait.¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Worth? I¡¯m worth the wait? Pffft! Heard that a couple of times already. Try harder, Cain of Palvaran.¡±


    ¡°Wh-Wha-¡±


    Ivela laughed softly. ¡°I¡¯m just joking, but seriously, that one is overused.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Ah, hahaha, okay. By the way, you look great, Lady Caral.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I did not look great when I was wearing my armor, then? Just good?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, it¡¯s just I never see you without that armor.¡±


    Ivela smiled. ¡°I rarely wear something like this. Maybe on a special occasion like a ball or something. And you can stop calling me with my last name, just Ivela is fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Ivela. You can also call me Cain. Not that I have a last name or something¡± said Cain.¡±


    Ivela laughed softly.


    I¡¯Var came to them with a series of appetizer.


    He also poured a Trevel Wine, a very light wine but filled with rich flavour and scent.


    ¡°Enjoy.¡± said I¡¯Var as he left.


    ¡°So, how you¡¯ve been? I mean, are you okay after all that happened at Arozora?¡± asked Ivela.


    ¡°I¡¯m good, thank you. Well, Calbot gave me a good distraction from it.¡±


    ¡°You mean the battle at Haneama Palace?¡±


    ¡°You heard? Yeah, also the treasure hunting at Hanearian¡¯s Rest.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Ivela smiled.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Cain also smiled. ¡°It began when I¡­¡±


    They chatted warmly. Then, two waitresses came to them. One with a mini cart, another with Beil on her hands.


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    ¡°Ah, Beil.¡± said Cain as he saw they were bringing him over.


    The waitresses put Beil on the mini cart and served him some food. After they bowed to Cain and Ivela, they left.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Cain looked to Ivela. ¡°Tell me about yourself, Ivela.¡± he said.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m not as interesting as the people said. Oh well, as you know I¡¯m the little sister to Bagulv. My family, including me are actually not from Arozora. We moved from Hazthala to Arozora when I was three. We occasionally go on holiday to Hazthala, but I¡¯ve never been back to my homeland since I joined the Kingsmight.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Hazthala? What is it like?¡± Cain was curious.


    ¡°It¡¯s a vibrant land with a lush Sehesha flower bed span across the horizon. The Capital City, Devel, built in between the Jhiple River and Bohgren Mountain. You know Sehesha flower? It has a crystal like petals, so, when the sun is set on the horizon, the flowers glitter, making a rainbow on the land, not in the sky. Mmh, now you make me homesick.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Sounds like a nowhere land in a fairytale.¡±


    Ivela chuckled. ¡°You should try to go there.¡± she said.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± responded Cain.


    Beil was just enjoying the food on the cart near the fountain.


    Then, I¡¯Var came with a cart. He served the main course. A well done grilled Blue Scaled Buffalo meat, a honeyed deep fried Thunder Fish fillet, a soup of Horned Wingless Duck breast, and a stir-fried spicy Deep Mountain Lamb leg.


    ¡°Wow!¡± said Cain. He was amazed by the smells.


    ¡°Bon app¨¦tit!¡± said I¡¯Var.


    ¡°Mmhm! This is so good! The chef must be used shrimp broth for the seasoning.¡± commented Cain after he took a sip of the duck breast soup.


    Ivela did not seem impressed as she cut the fish fillet. But she showed a delighted expression when she took a bite.


    ¡°So, Cain, how does it feel to be trained by the strongest man in Valfikr?¡± asked Ivela.


    ¡°Well, he actually just taught me the basic, but even though it¡¯s only the basic, it¡¯s a¡­ well, it¡¯s tough for a talentless like me. Higa and Lexa were just breezing through the training where I, almost everyday could not keep up with them. But I knew they were geniuses.¡±


    ¡°Talentless? You? You¡¯ve wrecked my squad, clearly you are not.¡± said Ivela.


    Cain just smiled, then, he told Ivela how he practiced alone two times harder from what Higa and Lexa got from Igo. And about a book that was given by Igo, that changed his fate, his path, his perception towards the impossible things.


    When Cain showed him the book. Ivela was shocked.


    ¡°You were given that book by King Iligo!? And you actually learnt the techniques and magic from that book!?¡± asked Ivela with a serious expression on her face.


    ¡°Yeah, and it seems none other than me could learn from this book, Higa and Lexa tried it before.¡±


    ¡°... Do you know that book origins, Cain?¡± asked Ivela.


    ¡°I don''t really know, All I know is, its owner was the ancient mysterious hero, Gomara.¡±


    ¡°That book is the national treasure of Arozora, Cain. Well, the useless national treasure to be exact.¡±


    ¡°... For real!!?¡± Cain was shocked.


    Ivela chuckled then nodded. ¡°King Iligo certainly didn¡¯t tell you, did he?¡± asked Ivela.


    Apparently, Igo never told him about the book more than that it was a technique and magic book. And the little Cain was just happy he could learn the techniques where he couldn''t learn them from Igo.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ should I return it?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I don''t think so, that¡¯s called the useless treasure for a reason. No one ever could learn from that book, including me, except you apparently. If that book becomes a useful treasure in your hands, I think it¡¯s better if you keep it. Also, if King Iligo was the one who gave it and did not ask it back for over the years, that means you¡¯re the owner of that book now.¡± Ivela replied.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good to hear.¡± said Cain, relieved.


    Then, a serene instrumental music was being played by a group of minstrel that just came. They took a staged spot in the corner of the place.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for the book,¡± said Cain, he then stood up and offered his hand to Ivela. ¡±Shall we dance?¡±


    ¡°Dance?¡± Ivela looked so surprised. ¡°Sure.¡± With a smile, she took Cain¡¯s hand.


    Cain looked to Beil. ¡°Stay there, Beil.¡±


    ¡°Meip?¡± Beil only tilted his head.


    They went to the center of the circular flower bedthat was decorated with a beautiful floral pattern on the vinyl floor.


    Cain held Ivela¡¯s hand gently, and put his another hand to Ivela¡¯s waist. He pulled Ivela¡¯s Casela lily-scented body to his, but did not let her chest touched him. He was actually a bit nervous.


    But Ivela pressed herself to Cain. ¡°If you want to do it, do it the right way.¡± said Ivela as she put her hand to Cain¡¯s shoulder. Ivela with her height that touched Cain¡¯s eye, made their faces got so close when she pressed herself to Cain.


    ¡°... Right¡­¡± Cain replied. He did not expect that.


    One step, two steps, three steps. Ivela¡¯s footworks were sharp yet elegance, and Cain was able to follow it. Their movement was in harmony.


    ¡°My, my, you know, Cain. You¡¯re a box full of the unexpected.¡± Ivela smiled.


    Cain just replied with a smile. ¡°(I never thought that out of nowhere-dancing class when I was trained by Igo could came in handy!)¡± what Cain had in his mind.


    The people there were watching their dance. Some of them were amazed, the rest were just jealous.


    Cain looked to I¡¯Var that stood behind the counter. I¡¯Var gave an ok hand sign and nodded a couple of times.


    Cain chuckled a bit.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Ivela.


    ¡°Nothing. You smell good, Ivela. Wait... was that weird?¡±


    Ivela laughed softly as she shook her head a bit.


    They found themselves gazing deeply into each other¡¯s eyes.


    The guests on the second floor of Fine Dine also started to dance with their partner because of that dance from the youngsters of Arozora.


    Beil ran to them and cheerfully rolled over here and there near Cain''s feet. Looks like he did not want to miss out the moment.


    Cain and Ivela laughed as they saw Beil¡¯s action.


    The atmosphere there was so pleasant with almost all of the guests were dancing.


    ¡°I¡¯m thirsty.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Shall we go back to the table?¡± asked Cain.


    Ivela nodded. They went back to their table. Beil was still rolling there among the dancing guests.


    Then, I¡¯Var came to them with desserts. A purple pumpkin pie, a cr¨¦m¨¦ winter br?l¨¦e, a mint island pudding, and a cup of honeydew frozen cream.


    ¡°That was lovely dance, Master Cain and Lady Caral.¡± said I¡¯Var.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯Var.¡± responded Ivela.


    I¡¯Var nodded and left.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the pudding.¡± said Ivela as she pointed the spoon she held towards the mint island pudding.


    ¡°Woah! As you wish, Lady Ivela.¡± Cain gave her the pudding.


    Ivela laughed softly.


    Cain took the cr¨¦m¨¦ winter br?l¨¦e.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I think the last time I ate a cr¨¦m¨¦ winter br?l¨¦e was¡­ when the old man took us to a small village in the east of Arozora. On my birthday.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°... I think today is my birthday too.¡± he continued.


    ¡°You think???¡± responded Ivela.


    Cain scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m too distracted to even remember my birthday I guess. I think old man Igo also forget about it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I could buy you a gift.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Hahah, no need. This, this is the best gift I ever had.¡±


    Ivela just smiled. ¡°How old are you now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m 21 now,¡± Cain took a spoonful of the cr¨¦m¨¦ winter br?l¨¦e. ¡°Mmh! This cr¨¦m¨¦ winter br?l¨¦e has three layers of different caramel! So good!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You know, Cain,¡± said Ivela as she took the last spoon of the pudding. ¡°You¡¯re the first.¡±


    ¡°First of what?¡± asked Cain.


    Ivela put her right hand on the table and supported her face on it. Her gesture was like evaluating Cain.


    ¡°Well, most men, no, all men. When they saw me, their first five seconds was either into my face or my chest. The second five seconds was either into my chest again, or my hips, or my legs.¡± she said.


    ¡°But you, all this time, you locked your gazes into my eyes even though I¡¯m wearing this revealing dress.¡± Ivela continued.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ it¡¯s not a bad thing, right?¡±


    She laughed softly. ¡°I thank you for that.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°I was actually the type that flirt often,¡± said Cain. ¡°But, just that, I never took a step more than that. Higa and Lexa always teased me about that,¡± he laughed. ¡°So, this is actually the first time I have dinner with a woman.¡± he laughed again.


    ¡°Me too, this is my first time to have dinner with a man,¡± she chuckled. ¡°All I could see was lust in the eyes of all men that invited me to a dinner.¡± she sighed.


    Then, Beil came to them and jumped onto Ivela¡¯s lap.


    ¡°Meip.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± said Ivela as she stroked Beil¡¯s head.


    Beil curled his body and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s tired from all that dancing,¡± said Ivela. ¡°Shall we go home?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Cain replied.


    They went to the counter, Ivela was holding the sleeping Beil on her hands.


    ¡°Are you done, Master Cain and Lady Caral? asked I¡¯Var.


    ¡°Yeah, thank you, I¡¯Var. Those dishes are spectacular.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°We¡¯re honored to have your satisfaction.¡± said I¡¯Var.


    Then I¡¯Var took them to the front door on the first floor.


    ¡°Say hi to old man Norja from me.¡± said Cain to I¡¯Var.


    ¡°Absolutely, Master Cain.¡±


    ¡°Bye I¡¯Var.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Thank you for your visit, Lady Caral. Well, I¡¯ll be waiting for your next visit, both of you.¡± after he bowed his head and smiled, he went back into the restaurant.


    ¡°So, where do you stay?¡± asked Cain to Ivela.


    ¡°King Calbot accommodates his guests in an inn near the Palace.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll walk you there. Here.¡± said Cain as he put his coat to Ivela.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± she smiled.


    ¡°Want me to take Beil?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I don''t want to wake him up.¡± Ivela replied.


    They walked to the inn. They chatted and laughed as they strolled through the night street, illuminated with poles of lumines crystals along the way.


    Some of the food stalls on the streetside were still crowded with people that looking for a night snack.


    ¡°You know, I noticed you have a chemistry towards food, Cain.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°Hehe, maybe because I can cook. Well, a bit.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then, next time we should eat your cookings.¡± said Ivela.


    Cain looked at Ivela with a surprised expression. ¡°Are you planning the next one already?¡±


    Ivela smiled. ¡°You don''t want to?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡± said Cain immediately.


    They both laughed.


    ¡°Well, here it is.¡± said Ivela. They stopped at an expensive-looking inn. It wasn¡¯t far, only 20 minutes of walk.


    ¡°Thank you for today, Cain. It was fun.¡±


    ¡°I had fun too.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Here.¡± Ivela raised her hands to hand him the sleeping Beil.


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡±


    When Ivela handed Beil, she stole a kiss on Cain¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°That¡¯s your birthday gift,¡± she said while smiling. ¡°And here.¡± she gave back Cain¡¯s coat.


    ¡°See you later, Cain.¡± Ivela turned around and went inside the inn.


    Cain was still frozen. Then, he inhaled and exhaled a deep breath. He put the coat on his shoulder. Beil was on his left hand.


    He turned around and walked away. After several steps, with his right hand, he punched the air in triumph. He then walked again.

 Chapter 27 - Relaxing on Lake Olren

    Cain was packing up in his room in the morning. He decided it was time for him to go back for his track to Krevias.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain was looking at his clothes on the bed. Some of them were ragged. ¡°The life of a Hunter is really spendthrift, huh.¡± he sighed.


    ¡°(I should looking for cheap clothes before I left Haneama.)¡± thought he.


    He wore the fingerless gloves from Igo, and the cloak he received from the Kingsmight. He put the rest into his bag.


    ¡°Alright, all set.¡±


    He went to Throne Room, but did not find Calbot there. The guards pointed him to the Dining Hall.


    After said his thanks, he went to the Dining Hall.


    The guards in front of the Dining Hall door opened the door for him.


    When he entered, Calbot and Meira were having breakfast with Igo, Ivela was there too. They were having breakfast on a long table. Calbot was on the middle.


    When they saw Cain entered the hall, they stopped their chat.


    ¡°Cain? Where are you going?¡± asked Calbot. All eyes were on Cain.


    ¡°This is the time, I¡¯ll continue my journey.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°So fast? Ughh¡­ come, sit down, have breakfast with us,¡± said Calbot. ¡°At least I won''t let you tell everyone that I see you go while you have an empty belly.¡± he continued.


    Cain laughed then shrugged. After he put down his bag and the cloak on the table near the tall window, he sat down beside Meira, across from Igo and Ivela. He took a slice of buttered bread from the plate and ate it.


    ¡°So, where will you go, Cain?¡± asked Meira.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to see the beauty of Olren Lake.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Ah, Krevias? Good choice!¡± responded Calbot. ¡°Then, after that?¡± asked he.


    ¡°After that, hmm¡­ I want to say wherever the wind takes me or something like that to make me look cool, but I¡¯m sure, Lady Ivela here would say that line is overused.¡± Cain smirked.


    They laughed to Cain¡¯s reply. Ivela just laughed softly and smiled.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s the dinner?¡± asked Igo to Cain.


    ¡°Your Majesty!?¡± gasped Ivela.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? That¡¯s just a simple curiosity from a King to his bodyguard¡¯s happiness.¡± Igo shrugged.


    ¡°I want to know too!¡± said Meira. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so beautiful in that dress! I bet Cain lost his mind when he saw you.¡± teased Meira.


    ¡°I actually went to the otherside for a while last night, Meira.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°See?¡± said Meira.


    ¡°Cain!?¡± said Ivela with a blinking expression as she was being teased by them.


    They laughed blissfully.


    Jared came with Beil. Beil ran and jumped to Cain¡¯s lap when he saw Cain. Cain gave him a little piece of bread he was eating.


    ¡°Mee~eip.¡± Beil happily ate the bread.


    ¡°Your Majesties.¡± Jared greeted his King and King Iligo.


    ¡°Sit down, Jared. After this breakfast, Cain will continue his journey. This is likely our farewell breakfast.¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Really? Too bad you choose not to stay, Cain.¡± Jared sat next to Cain.


    Cain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m gonna see what the world has to offer.¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil sounded to agree.


    After the breakfast, they went to the Throne Room. Where they saw him off.


    ¡°Take care out there, Master Cain.¡± said Jared.


    They shook hands. ¡°Thanks¡­ do you also get it?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Of course! You were late yesterday,¡± Jared puffed his chest. ¡°Oh yeah, Rinrai and Marna will be sad when they know you had dinner with that beautiful Rose.¡± whispered Jared.


    ¡°You sounded like I¡¯m the bad one here, Master Jared.¡± responded Cain.


    They both laughed.


    ¡°Say hi to the Order from me.¡± said Cain.


    Jared nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you, Beil.¡± Meira hugged Beil. Rubbed her cheek to Beil¡¯s.


    ¡°Mee~eip.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you don''t want a carriage or at least a horse, Cain?¡± asked Calbot.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good, Your Majesty.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Please, just Calbot. I count you among my closest friends.¡±


    Cain smiled. ¡°Thanks, Calbot.¡± he said.


    Meira stepped to Calbot¡¯s side after she put Beil down.


    ¡°I can¡¯t persuade you to stay until we get married, huh?¡± said Calbot.


    ¡°Yeah, stay longer, Cain.¡± Meira added.


    Cain laughed lightly. ¡°Actually, I can solve that,¡± Cain took a little box from his waist bag, then he handed it to Calbot. ¡°This is an early gift for you, congratulation, Calbot and Meira. Long live, and always be in Goddess¡¯s care.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°A gift?¡± Calbot took the box and opened it.


    A pair of bracelets were inside the box.


    ¡°A couple bracelets?¡± said Meira as she took the bracelets.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing fancy. But, those are actually magic items, it can track the pair, or warn the wearer if the pair is in danger.¡± said Cain.


    Those were Higa and Lexa¡¯s bracelets. Cain knew they would be happy if the bracelets found its use in the hands of the couple in front of him. He initially thought he would give it to Ivela, but he was more convinced that Calbot and Meira were more suitable.


    ¡°Aww, thank you, Cain.¡± said Meira.


    ¡°I¡­ don''t know what to say, truly, thank you, Cain. We¡¯ll keep it well.¡± said Calbot while holding close Meira with his left hand.


    Cain nodded.


    Igo walked to him and tapped Cain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡± Igo smiled.


    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Cain smirked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you two talk.¡± Igo stepped backward so Ivela could say something to Cain.


    Cain chuckled.


    ¡°Thank you for the dinner again, Ivela.¡± said Cain.


    Ivela smiled. ¡°Make sure you have more interesting stories next time.¡± she said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Cain laughed. ¡°Ah yeah, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, why only you who accompanied King Iligo here?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°He actually wanted to go alone. Kingsmight and Dios objected until he finally let me accompanied him, just me.¡± Ivela replied.


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s so like him.¡± responded Cain.


    Ivela laughed softly. ¡°Alright, Cain of Palvaran, bring me the stories about your adventure when we meet again.¡± said Ivela.


    ¡°As you wish, Lady Silver Rose. Though I¡¯d rather if you were in the stories.¡± said Cain.


    Ivela just replied with a charming smile. But that smile had many meanings. Included ¡°I want that to happen.¡± or. ¡°Bleh, what a smooth talker.¡± Cain was just positively thinking it was the former.


    Ivela petted Beil that stood near Cain''s feet. ¡°Take good care of him, Beil.¡± she said.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil replied.


    ¡°Okay, everyone! Farewell!¡± said Cain.


    ¡­


    Before Cain left Haneama, he went to a market. Looking for some cheap clothes. After he bought some, he finally continued his journey to Krevias.


    He walked south through a savanna and a little forest. Sometimes, he hopped on to a peddler¡¯s carts.


    On his way, he trained his mastery of the Azure Bone Gauntlet. He wanted to fully make use the Gauntlet. Because no matter how many Gomara¡¯s techniques he unleashed, It wasn''t damaged in the slightest, unlike any other weapons that would break with just one technique.


    He often thought, if the weapons from the Mysticbone Hall was able to withstand two to three Gomara¡¯s techniques, that meant the smithy nowadays was far inferior to ancient times smithy.


    That was why relics and artifacts were so expensive. Because it was hard to produce weapons or items at that kind of level. Most of the techniques to create those masterpieces were long lost due to so many wars ravaged in Valfikr in the past.


    Presented with this ¡®indestructible¡¯ weapon on his hand, he should use it to the fullest. Besides, as what Master Aslein said, his own bones would become stronger when he used the Gauntlet. All the more reasons to use the Azure Bone Gauntlet.


    After twelve days on the road, Cain finally saw a blue in the horizon. A blue from Olren Lake. He was already inside the Krevias Kingdom¡¯s territory.


    ¡°Look, Beil!¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    As they got closer. The width of the lake became fully visualized in the horizon. In the center of the lake, stood a city, Havelvaih. A castle like building was stood taller than the rest of the buildings.


    Fisherman commodities were gathered at one side of the lake. And the opposite direction of it, a vast green to yellow steppe with some spires stood tall, called Kuni Steppe, still part of Krevias Kingdom.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ the wind smells so relaxing already.¡± said Cain when the wind blew over his face.


    ¡°Meip.¡±


    ¡°What? Oh, you must be smell the fish, right?¡±


    ¡°Mee~eip.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for later. Let¡¯s go there.¡±


    They went to a lone tree that stood on the higher ground. It gave them a full view of the lake. It was actually pretty far from the lake. But that was the best seat to see the scenery.


    It was noon, Cain sat in the shade of the tree. While Beil was playing with the butterflies near the tree.


    The breeze swept Cain¡¯s face gently.


    ¡°It¡¯s so peaceful¡­¡± said Cain.


    He laid down his body to relax and closed his eyes.


    After half an hour of light sleep. Beil jumped to his chest.


    ¡°Meeip! Memeeip!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Beil?¡± asked Cain, his eyes still closed. ¡°Hmm?...¡± he slowly sat up.


    He looked to a direction behind the tree. He saw dust was rising up on the Kuni Steppe landscape.


    Cain could feel a slight tremble on the ground.


    ¡°Hmm!?¡­ a horde!? That is a horde of beasts!¡± said Cain in surprise.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil sounded to agree.


    Cain observed the rising dust movement. It did not go to Olren Lake direction. It moved towards east. Then Cain traced what was on the eastern landscape.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    Another rising dust was heading towards west. Towards the first rising dust.


    ¡°That¡¯s another beast horde!!! Holy Crap! That is a Horde Brawl!¡± said Cain in excitement.


    Just like human, beast also had their own group or horde they prefer to live with. Every horde had an Alpha to organize them. Alpha Brawl was a natural selection where the beasts fought to take the Alpha seat.


    And, also like human, each beast horde had a territory they lived within. And when two hordes were fighting for a territory, it was called a Horde Brawl.


    The beasts would fight the other beasts from the opposite horde until one of the Alpha was defeated.


    This phenomenon was actually beneficial for human, as they did not have to do anything to reduce the beast population. So when a Horde Brawl was happening, they would only stood watch.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a closer look, Beil!¡± said Cain. He was excited. This was the first time he saw a Horde Brawl.


    ¡°Meiiip.¡± Beil cowered in fear, he seemed objected.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll be far enough for them to notice. Heck, even if we were get noticed, they wouldn¡¯t attack us!¡± said Cain.


    The beasts that engaged in a Horde Brawl won''t attack the humans near them, unless the humans attacked them first. The beasts focused to help their Alpha to beat the opposite horde¡¯s Alpha.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil seemed to agree after Cain¡¯s reassurement.


    With Beil on his hand. Cain leaped far, towards the Horde Brawl.

 Chapter 28 - A Horde Brawl

    ¡°Meee~eeip.¡± Beil looked so happy when they leaped high.


    After some leaps, Cain saw a group of people plus afour-wheeled horse-drawn cart near a spire when he was in mid air.


    Cain landed not far from them. After he put Beil on the ground, they walked to the group. Two women and four men.


    One of them noticed Cain¡¯s presence. He turned around and looked at Cain.


    ¡°You come to watch them too?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Good, the ground here is higher, so this is the best spot to watch them slaughtering each other,¡± said the man. ¡°I¡¯m Ziraf, you?¡± asked Ziraf, he was around his 30s


    ¡°I¡¯m Cain, a Hunter.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re Hunters too.¡± responded one of the women.


    ¡°This is my Hunter group,¡± said Ziraf. ¡°I never saw you around, are you a Grass?¡± asked he.


    ¡°I am,¡± Cain replied. ¡°And this is Beil.¡± he pointed to Beil that stood near his feet.


    ¡°An otter? In a savanna? It¡¯s rare.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Guys, it¡¯s almost starting.¡± said another woman.


    Cain and Ziraf turned their attention towards the hordes.


    In front of them, two hordes of beasts were closing in towards each other.


    ¡°Look at that, those rare beasts must be the Alpha of their respective horde.¡± commented the woman.


    The west horde was led by a Grizzly Demonic Gorilla, it was approximately 16 feet in height with bluish black fur that covered its body. It had four eyes that could look into different directions independently. With its four strong-looking arms, it was walking intimidatingly among its horde.


    The east horde was spearheaded by a Sunburst Liger. It had a bit smaller posture than the Gorilla, but it leaked a fiercer aura than the opposite Alpha. It had two majestic ram-like horns. Even though its left horn was broken in half, it still gave a shiver to whoever stood in front of it.


    Both of the hordes were the same in size. Thousands in each horde.


    ¡°Sunburst Liger and Grizzly Demonic Gorilla, huh?.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°I like the Sunburst Liger, it stood in the vanguard ranks. Like how any leader should be!¡± said one of the Hunters.


    ¡°Stupid, why would the leader charges head on while it still has pawns to do that!?¡± responded the woman.


    ¡°Heh, you kinda sound like those fat assed commanders that gave the order from behind the desk, Rollei.¡± commented Ziraf to the woman called Rollei.


    ¡°Go away, Boss!¡± Rollei replied.


    ¡°Oh shit! They¡¯re starting to charge!¡± said one of the Hunters excitedly.


    Both of the hordes ran towards each other.


    The hordes clashed, it was messy. Because some of the beast could use magic, it made the Brawl was really watch worthy.


    In the vanguard ranks, with its powerful front leg sweep and sharp claws, the Liger quickly devastated the front liner of the west horde.


    With a roar from the Gorilla, a horde of Twisted Horn Rhinos were charging towards the Liger, crushing the beasts on their path. But the rhinos just passed the Liger. They only targeted the opponent beasts around the Liger.


    Another roar came from the Gorilla. A parade of Six Legged Elephants isolated the Liger. Then the beasts under the Gorilla¡¯s command were starting to attack the isolated Liger.


    ¡°See! That¡¯s how you win a war! Not just stupidly charging into the battlefield!¡± said Rollei.


    The rare beasts were known to have intelligence and abilities way higher than normal beasts. That was why the Alpha of a horde always a rare beast.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Even though it was one against hundreds, the Liger kept calm. It stood its ground.


    The rear ranks of the east horde did not stand still when they saw their Alpha got isolated. A group of Mountain Ogres took round rocks that were twice of their size. They threw the rocks to the sky, targeted to the Gorilla¡¯s horde.


    The rocks were suddenly burning in mid air. When it hit the west horde, it crushed dozens of the beasts.


    But when the Gorilla¡¯s horde thought those were just rocks. The burning rocks were starting to spin on the ground. It spun at high speed, making the dust rose up around the rocks. Then, the burning rocks were rolling in the enemy''s ranks.


    Those were actually Giant Flamerock Armadillos. They crushed the Gorilla¡¯s horde with a blazing pace. The Twisted Horn Rhinos were not even their match. The armadillos crushed them when the rhinos tried to stop a rolling armadillo head on. And they also obliterated the elephant parade that isolated their Alpha.


    Freed from its isolation, the Liger started to dominate the front line again. The Liger accumulated an energy inside its mouth. Its mouth was glowing yellow, then, it unleashed the energy. Shooting a yellow beam straight to the Grizzly Demonic Gorilla.


    The beasts on the beam¡¯s path were incinerated. But when the beam touched the Gorilla, the Gorilla took it head on but was left unscathed. It pounded its chest repeatedly and roared.


    The Grizzly Demonic Gorilla was known to have a high defense against magical attacks.


    With a straight path that had been opened, the Gorilla and the Liger ran towards each other.


    ¡°Oh shit! Here comes the Alphas!!¡± said the Hunter.


    They clashed in front of a huge spire. The Gorilla¡¯s uppercut that reached the Liger first marked the start of their one on one brawl.


    With its ferocious physical posture, the Gorilla pounded, smacked, even kicked the Liger. The Liger rolled and countered with its sharp claws. It wounded the Gorilla¡¯s left hand. They brawled violently, their blood splattered everywhere.


    ¡°Damn! The Liger can still strike back after being hit repeatedly with those crazy arms!?¡± said one of the Hunters.


    ¡°You¡¯re so noisy, Vigel!¡± Rollei yelled at the man called Vigel.


    ¡°(A brawl between the rare beasts is really amazing!)¡± thought Cain. Not bothered by the banter between the Hunters.


    ¡°What do you think, Cain? Which one will win?¡± Ziraf asked Cain.


    ¡°Why are you asking the Grass!? Of course it¡¯s the Gorilla! It will dominate the hordes! What a Grass rank knows about rare beasts anyway.¡± responded Rollei arrogantly.


    ¡°Your last comment is unnecessary, Rollei. But I¡¯m with you this time, the Grizzly Demonic Gorilla will win.¡± said Vigel.


    The other Hunters were also one voice with Vigel. The believed the Gorilla got this one.


    ¡°So?¡± Ziraf looked at Cain.


    ¡°Hm¡­ I think the Sunburst Liger will have this one.¡± said Cain. He ignored the remarks by Rollei.


    ¡°Duh¡­¡± Rollei rolled up her eyes in response to what Cain said.


    ¡°Hoo? Why is that?¡± Ziraf was curious.


    ¡°Well, the Gorilla is young. Its fur is still bluish black, if it were a mature one, the fur would be reddish black. That means, it lacks experience on a fight, but at least it commands its horde well enough,¡± said Cain as he looked over the Alphas. ¡°It¡¯s the opposite for the Liger. It¡¯s rich with battle experience. You can see the broken horn and the scars that covered its body. Clearly the Liger is battle hardened. It must have been maintained the Alpha seat from only Goddess knows how many challengers it had faced. Besides, the sun is high in the cloudless sky. It¡¯s the prime time of the Sunburst Liger, the Grizzly Demonic Gorilla chose the wrong time to face it.¡± explained Cain.


    Thanks to the knowledge from the Book of Gomara, Cain successfully decorated the face of the Hunters with a dumbfounded expression. Except Ziraf, he nodded in agreement to what Cain said.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil looked so proud.


    ¡°See? The Sunburst Liger is showing its true strength now.¡± said Cain as he looked to the brawling Alphas.


    Yellow particles appeared around the body of Sunburst Liger. Then, the particles were absorbed by its fangs, claws and horns.


    The Sunburst Liger¡¯s fangs, claws and horns were glowing yellow. The glowings were also radiating heat.


    The roar of the Sunburst Liger shook the ground a bit. Its eyes now were also glowing yellow.


    The Grizzly Demonic Gorilla did not get intimidated. It also roared and charged towards the Liger.


    The Liger just stood and waited the Gorilla. When the Gorilla swung its two right hands from left to the right side, the Liger ducked then headbutted the Gorilla¡¯s chest.


    The Gorilla was thrown by the headbutt¡¯s force. It crashed to the ground and was rolling in pain. Its chest got burned, also its breast bone was broken.


    The Liger leaped and pounced the Gorilla. It bit and ripped one of the Gorilla¡¯s hands. It threw the Gorilla¡¯s hand to the side. The Gorilla screamed in pain as its blood gushed out. That scene could make a human took a pity, but they were beasts.


    The Liger sunk its claws to Grizzly Demonic Gorilla¡¯s leg. It let its claws deep in the leg for a while, roasted whatever the claws touched in the leg.


    The Gorilla was wriggling in pain. It roared weakly.


    Four Giantclaw Great Bears heeded the call for help from their Alpha. Only to be blocked by the Mountain Ogres, they choked the bears to the death in the air with one hand.


    ¡°Holy shiiitttt! That¡¯s a slaughter, guys!¡± said Vigel in awe.


    ¡°Your explanation was flawless, Cain. But you¡¯re wrong about which one will win.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Huh?¡± responded Cain.


    The Liger sliced down the Gorilla¡¯s leg. The Gorilla was just too weak now to react. Half of its horde also already got trampled by the Liger¡¯s.


    When the Liger was about to finish the Grizzly Demonic Gorilla, the ground was shaking.


    Then, the huge spire that stood as their background crumbled.


    ¡°What is that!?¡± gasped Cain.


    ¡°That is, Cain, the true Alpha of Kuni Steppe!¡± said Ziraf in answer.

 Chapter 29 - The Alpha of Kuni Steppe

    The trembling ground made most of the beasts panicked. They stopped their fight.


    The huge spire that stood was crumbling. Revealing something within.


    A skeletal bipedal creature got up from the crumbling spire. It was huge, it stood with two legs. It had a massive skull, with a long, solid tail as a balancer. Its two forelimbs were armed with four-clawed fingers. Its height was about half of Delmourga¡¯s height, and about 80 feet in length.


    ¡°What is that!?¡± reacted Cain.


    ¡°That thing is the boss around here,¡± said Vigel. ¡°I forgot that thing is still here.¡± he shrugged.


    ¡°That is a Dragon Tyrant Rex. Well, what¡¯s left of it. Must be some kind of magic that keeps it alive, even after all of its flesh is long gone.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°A Dragon Tyrant Rex!? The extinct beast!?¡± Cain was surprised.


    Dragon Tyrant Rex was one of many ancient beasts that roamed the Continent from thousands years ago. It came from a subspecies of Dragon familia.


    Unlike its main species, Grand Dragon, the Dragon Tyrant Rex were wingless. Even though they weren''t as feared as the Grand Dragons, they were still the apex predators among the beasts.


    Their population began to decrease 700 years ago when mankind begun to hunt them in the name of sport, not just for survival. 200 years later, they were declared extinct from the Continent.


    It shook its bone body to clean itself from the rubble. It had fiery green eyes inside its eye sockets.


    No beasts were moving. The skeletal Dragon Tyrant Rex took all their attention.


    It walked towards the hordes slowly, each steps shook the ground. It stopped in front of the Sunburst Liger and the dying Grizzly Demonic Gorilla. It crouched down to see what¡¯s beneath its skull. Its forelimbs were long enough to make an intimidating four-legged stance.


    After the Dragon Tyrant Rex stared at the Alphas, it went back to his two legged posture and looked over the hordes, growling.


    The beasts couldn''t took their eyes off from the enormous beast in front of them, they were under a heavy pressure just from its aura alone.


    With a roar, it stomped the Gorilla with its huge leg. The Gorilla died instantly. Then, the Dragon Tyrant Rex spun and swept the beasts in front of it with its strong and long tail.


    The beasts that were caught by the tail sweep were blown away, some of them were fatally wounded, the rest followed the Gorilla¡¯s fate instantly. The Liger escaped the sweep by jumping backward.


    Seeing its victory being seized by the Dragon Tyrant Rex, the Liger shot out the yellow beam to the skeleton beast. The beam was much larger than before. But it had no effect to the Dragon Tyrant Rex, it was like it did not feel anything when the beam touched the bones. Then, a Giant Flamerock Armadillo was rolling to the Dragon Tyrant Rex.


    With its leg, it stomped the rolling armadillo, the armadillo was stopped with the raw power of its leg. Then it picked up the burning armadillo with its mouth, and effortlessly crushed the armadillo with its jaw. The remains of the armadillos were falling from the jaw.


    That scene instantly broke the will of the beasts from both hordes, they started to flee.


    But, the Liger did not abandon its ground, it tried to sink its claw to Dragon Tyrant Rex¡¯s bone leg. Its effort was in vain, not even its claws could scratch the bones. When the Liger let its guard down, its body was skewered by Rex¡¯s left forelimb claws. It gripped the Liger with its another forelimb then ripped apart the Liger in half, the Liger¡¯s entrails were scattered around the ground.


    Three wounded Mountain Ogres rushed towards the Dragon Tyrant Rex. They wanted to avenge their Alpha. But they were greeted by sharp bones that pierced their bodies from the ground. The piercing bones were magic, employed by the Dragon Tyrant Rex.


    The Mountain Ogres were still alive even though they were pierced by many bones. They were wriggling, trying to break free. Then, the bones that pierced them, moved up and down fast, stabbing their bodies repeatedly until they didn''t move anymore.


    ¡°Damn, what a power! Look at how badass that Alpha is!¡± said Vigel.


    The rest of the beasts were scattered, leaving the battlefield. While the Dragon Tyrant Rex roared, signifying its victory.


    Then, the Dragon Tyrant Rex returned to the center of the crumbled spire. It curled its body. The surrounding rocks, small and big, began to float. The rocks gathered around the Dragon Tyrant Rex, burying the beast. In no time, the huge spire went back to the initial state, with buried Dragon Tyrant Rex beneath it.


    ¡°What? It just¡­ sealed itself after that?¡± Cain was puzzled.


    ¡°It has been like that since forever. It attacks any beasts that brawling in Kuni Steppe,¡± Ziraf shrugged. ¡°Trom, bring our cart! Let¡¯s get to work, boys!¡± he said to the Hunters.


    With Ziraf¡¯s instruction, the Hunters started to walk down, to the area where the Horde Brawl had happened. Trom, one of the Hunters, took their cart and followed the group.


    ¡°Come on, Cain.¡± said Ziraf.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Where to??¡±


    ¡°To the loot of course. See those dead beasts? Free money.¡± Ziraf replied.


    ¡°Wait, what about the Dragon Tyrant Rex?¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t attack humans. Well, unless you poke its spire.¡± Ziraf laughed.


    ¡°It never attacked human?¡±


    ¡°Find hard to believe, eh? But that¡¯s how it is. Let¡¯s go, before more hunters show up.¡±


    ¡°More hunters will come?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don''t worry though, there are plenty materials on the ground to sell for almost all Hunters in Krevias. But, the thing is, quantity isn''t always the option. Who comes first will get the best materials, right?¡±


    Not only reducing the beasts population, the Horde Brawl also gave wealth to whoever caught the news of it.


    The material from the beasts was another income source for the Hunters.


    Cain and Ziraf went down.


    ¡°Take whatever you want, Cain, but, you don''t mind if we take the Gorilla and the Liger, do you? After all, we are the first one here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don''t mind.¡± Cain shrugged.


    ¡°Vigel, Extract everything from the Gorilla! Rollei! You handle the Liger!¡± The rest, extract anything you find worthy!¡± Ziraf shouted to his group that already went ahead.


    ¡°Well, you better be quick, before Strega Vultures come. Those beasts are awful to deal with.¡± he continued.


    Cain nodded.


    Ziraf¡¯s Hunter group extracted the materials from the bodies of the beasts. Bones, fur, meat, even the eyes.


    Materials from the beasts varied in price, depending on the usefulness. Like the meat of the Giant Flamerock Armadillo, even though it was known for its delicacy and its effect to increase the mass of human muscle when consumed, it was still sold cheaper than its hide, the hide could be made into an armor that no ordinary arrows could pierce.


    They extracted the materials that were sold at high prices, they left the cheap ones.


    ¡°You know how to extract the materials from these beasts, right? You know, skin the hide, choose the best part of the meat that kind of thing.¡± asked Ziraf.


    ¡°Yeah, I know how.¡± said Cain.


    They passed hundreds of beast corpses. Beil followed them from behind, curiously poked some of the dead beasts.


    Cain cut the head of a Mountain Ogre, he took the eyes that were as big as his fist. He carefully extracted them so his clothes wouldn¡¯t get stained by the blood.


    ¡°Ogre¡¯s eyes, huh? Good choice.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Thanks, why are you following me though?¡± asked Cain. He wrapped the materials and put them in his bag.


    Ziraf laughed. ¡°Let¡¯s say I¡¯m impressed at how you analyzed the battle between the Alphas. Now, I¡¯m curious about your knowledge of the materials from the beasts.¡± he said.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s why.¡± said Cain. He only nodded and continued to look for the materials.


    Cain cut the tongue of Bell Lizard, collected the livers of Grevel Wild Dogs and took the heart of Whitemold Golem.


    ¡°Wow, you took the most expensive parts of them. But, you know, you missed their second most expensive parts.¡± commented Ziraf.


    ¡°Unlike you, I¡¯m not prepared to haul these materials. So I have to be selective about what I will take. That way, I can get the highest value with my capacity,¡± explained Cain. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to take those second most expensive parts, if you want.¡± he continued.


    ¡°True. And effective. Well, I¡¯ll take ¡®em then.¡± Ziraf nodded. He extracted the materials.


    Cain extracted more materials as they got closer to the corpse of Grizzly Demonic Gorilla and Sunburst Liger. Behind those corpse, stood the huge spire where the Dragon Tyrant Rex dwelled.


    They could see Rollei and Vigel, they were almost done with the material extraction from those Alphas.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go there.¡± said Ziraf.


    Cain replied with a nod.


    Then, a sharp pain landed on Cain¡¯s left wrist. The pain came from the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Cain suddenly stopped his steps.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? asked Ziraf. He was next to Cain.


    ¡°Meip?¡± Beil also wondered.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Ziraf shrugged.


    But, after Cain took another step, the pain was increasing.


    ¡°(Ugh! What is this!? This never happened before! And the pain! It¡¯s much sharper than when the bracelet transforms!!)¡± thought Cain.


    Cain was enduring the pain as he went on. Each steps increased the pain. He felt like his wrist was being sawed with a dull serrated blade.


    After 3 steps, Beil scratched Cain¡¯s pants.


    ¡°Meip! Meip!¡±


    Cain stopped and looked at Beil. He could see Beil knew he was enduring the pain.


    ¡°Ah, looks like Beil wants to go there.¡± said Cain, he pointed to a direction on his right.


    Ziraf looked at Beil then to Cain. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be with my group.¡± he said.


    After Ziraf went, Cain turned right. He ran towards the opposite direction of Ziraf¡¯s group.


    The pain was gradually decreasing as he went away from there.


    ¡°What was that!?¡± Cain was panting.


    ¡°Meeip?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, Beil.¡± Cain wiped his forehead. His wrist was no longer in pain. He was rubbing his left wrist.


    Cain looked around. He was still in the middle of dead beasts. Then he took a few steps toward Ziraf¡¯s group direction.


    Nothing happened. He took more steps.


    ¡°Akh!¡± Cain took a step backward as he held his left wrist.


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Weird, the pain came when I tried to get close to them. Hmm¡­¡± Cain was in deep thought.


    ¡°Damn, I¡¯m curious! But that pain was unbearable! It¡¯s frustrating!... The Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone probably tried to tell me something¡­ or warned me.¡± Cain rubbed his chin as he looked to the bracelet.


    ¡°Mysticbone¡­¡± Cain frowned. ¡°Damn! Don''t tell me it¡¯s because of the Dragon Tyrant Rex!? That thing is just bones after all! But it could be also from something else¡­ this is interesting¡­ though it¡¯s less exciting because it caused me too much pain.¡± Cain talked to himself.


    ¡°Meip?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Beil,¡± Cain smiled to Beil. ¡°Now, what should we do?¡±


    Cain looked around, he looked to the higher ground where they watched the Horde Brawl.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    7 groups of people were coming. Some of them were riding horses and carts.


    ¡°Must be the Hunters from Havelvaih, they¡¯re fast,¡± said Cain. Then, he looked up to the sky.


    About eleven Strega Vultures were circling in the sky.


    ¡°Oh well, I¡¯ll let them handle it.¡±


    Cain went back to the higher grounds and waited for Ziraf. He wanted to make sure if the pain was really coming from the Dragon Tyrant Rex, not from the fallen Alphas.


    He also watched how the Hunters worked together to repel the Strega Vultures.

 Chapter 30 - Olrenea Gis Neus

    The wind blew over the Kuni Steppe. It carried the stench of blood to the air.


    Cain sat on a stone, he was watching the Hunters who extracted what was left from the Horde Brawl with Beil sat next to him.


    With more Hunters came from Havelvaih, the place became very crowded. Cain also saw some of the Hunters got into a squabble over who¡¯s getting the materials.


    He thought if these Hunters were here when the Horde Brawl happened, it would¡¯ve been a total chaos when the looting time began. Fortunately, only Ziraf¡¯s group was there when that happened.


    Cain saw Ziraf¡¯s group was coming towards him. Their cart was full of materials from the beasts.


    ¡°Are you done, Cain?¡± asked Ziraf when he and his group approached Cain.


    ¡°Yeah, good haul.¡± said Cain. Cain peeked to their cart, he did not feel any pain on his wrist. Now he was certain, the Dragon Tyrant Rex was the cause.


    ¡°Great. You want to come with us, Cain? We¡¯ll go to Havelvaih.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± responded Cain. He wanted to find out why the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone was resonating with the Alpha of Kuni Steppe. But he decided to go to Havelvaih first. He could investigate the Dragon Tyrant Rex later.


    He had seen an amazing thing on his first day on Krevias. Now, he couldn''t wait to see what kind of city Havelvaih was. And of course, to see the beautiful Olren Lake from up close.


    ¡°Nice, you can ignore Rollei¡¯s rant and Vigel¡¯s noisy comment on the way.¡± Ziraf smirked.


    ¡°For real, Boss?¡± responded Rollei.


    ¡°Yeah! For real, Boss!? I mean, I¡¯m not noisy, right? how could my comments be noisy? I just say things that popped up on my mind! There¡¯s no way something like that could be specified as noisy comments!¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Blargh¡­¡± grumbled Rollei.


    Ziraf could only shook his head. And Cain just chuckled.


    ¡°Also, sorry Cain for what I said earlier. Just like what the Boss said, rants.¡± said Rollei.


    ¡°No worries.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± said Ziraf.


    They went to Havelvaih on foot. Because the cart was full of materials, they had no choice but to walk. They did not want to overwork the horse that pulled the cart. Their cart wasn''t a big type cart like a wagon that could transport goods and people with heavy load. They already estimated the weight of the materials so the horse could pull the cart without having troubles.


    Except Beil, he rode the horse on the head. The horse did not seem to mind the otter.


    Two other members of the group finally introduced themselves, the woman was Hoffa, she was Trom¡¯s little sister, and the last was a quiet man named Yudey.


    ¡°By the way, Cain, sorry if I sound rude, but I don''t believe you¡¯re a Grass rank Hunter,¡± said Ziraf. ¡°You know, with your knowledge and those deep analyzing skills, I bet you¡¯re at least in the rank of River, hmm¡­ maybe Spinel? Topaz?¡±


    Other Hunters also got curious to what their Boss just said.


    Cain just laughed lightly. He raised his hand, then, a blue crystal appeared above his palm.


    ¡°I am an Aquamarine rank Hunter.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Damn, he is the lowest.¡± said Rollei as he saw the crystal.


    ¡°That is indeed an Aquamarine crystal,¡± said Ziraf. ¡°Unbelievable. You have a very vast knowledge about beasts, Cain. Despite being a newbie Hunter.¡± he scratched his head.


    ¡°Indeed, I didn''t even know that Grizzly Demonic Gorilla was a young one.¡± said Trom.


    Yudey nodded in agreement.


    Cain smiled. ¡°What about you? What rank are you?¡± he asked the Hunters.


    ¡°We¡¯re all Topaz rank, and our Boss is Alexandrite rank.¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Woah, you¡¯re all in the River rank, veterans, huh?¡± responded Cain.


    Ziraf laughed when he heard Cain¡¯s comment. ¡°Yeah, those kinds of veterans who guessed wrong about which beast will win.¡± he smirked as he looked to his Hunter group.


    ¡°Of course! Those were rare beasts, Boss! The information about them is just like their rarity. How could we possibly know?¡± responded Rollei.


    ¡°Cain knows.¡± said Vigel, shrugged.


    ¡°Yeah, how do you know about those rare beasts, Cain? asked Trom.


    ¡°Err¡­ a book?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°See, Rollei? Read more books!¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Shut up, Vigel!¡± responded Rollei.


    The Hunters laughed because of their banters.


    Cain also asked about the Dragon Tyrant Rex to them. Ziraf told him that beast was already there long before Krevias was founded. Some said that was some kind of sorcerer¡¯s doing in the past. But it wasn''t proven because there was no evidence of some sort. Some Hunters tried to subdue this undead beast. But they never managed to do it because the beast was far stronger than it should be. According to the veterans of Hunters and the beast researchers, the Dragon Tyrant Rex in Kuni Steppe was in the same rank of a young adult Grand Dragon in terms of power.


    Then, when they discovered it would not attack humans unless provoked, they left it alone. They also did not know why the Dragon Tyrant Rex only attacked the beasts around it and never left its spot.


    When Krevias Kingdom was founded, it helped repel some invasions towards Havelvaih from the steppe direction. The soldiers of Krevias knocked the spire where the Dragon Tyrant Rex dwelled with a far-reach magic when the invader was marching around the spire. Disturbed from its slumber, it wrecked the invader¡¯s army that was baffled why there was a beast inside the spire. It also helped neutralize countless large beast hordes in the steppe. After that, the Dragon Tyrant Rex became an urban legend in Krevias, it was given a title by the people of Krevias, the Guardian of Kuni Steppe. Some people thought it was sent by the Goddess to watch over the steppe. Some of them also fanatically worshipped the Dragon Tyrant Rex.


    ¡°The Guardian of Kuni Steppe, huh?¡± Cain rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Judging from your response, you¡¯re not from around here, are you?¡± asked Vigel.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°No, I am a wandering Hunter.¡± said Cain. He petted Beil that comfortably sat on the horse¡¯s head. Hoffa asked if she could pet Beil too, Cain nodded in answer.


    ¡°Adventurer, huh?¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Look, we¡¯re almost there.¡± shouted Vigel. He was pointing to a direction in front of them.


    A statue of woman stood in the view. About 9 feet high. It was made of stone, beautifully sculpted. It was the statue of the Goddess of Nazula.


    The Goddess of Nazula was worshipped as the sole god of Nazula. She had many names, the Beginning and the Creator of All were the most used ones. The majority of humans worshipped her across the world.


    Near the feet of the statue, there was a smaller statue of skeletal Dragon Tyrant Rex, just like the one in Kuni Steppe. The color of its statue was a bit different from the Goddess statue. Cain assumed the smaller statue was much ¡®younger¡¯ than the bigger one.


    The statues stood between them and the sparkling Olren Lake. The sparkling came from the reflection of the sun that was slowly descending to the horizon.


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the perfect time! A sunset! Beautiful, isn''t it?¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Indeed¡­¡± said Cain. He stopped walking.


    The Hunters just kept walking, leaving him.


    Cain was just gazing towards the sparkling lake.


    ¡°Lexa and Higa would love to see this¡­¡± Cain let out a bitter smile as he exhaled a deep breath. He held his chest.


    Then, he continued his walk. He knew, the longer he gazed the lake, the more he couldn''t hold the tears.


    They arrived at a small village near the lake. After the security check by the guards, they boarded a ferryboat to cross the lake. The ferry was big enough to carry even twenty four-wheeled carts. The ferry design was simple, but Cain could see it was sturdy, he understood that the ferry was built only to bring the people to the city or vice versa. He also felt there was magic covering the ferry. In fact, the magic was the reason that the boat was moving, because there were no sails on it.


    The cart was left in the storage area in the lower deck, Yudey stayed with it, he drew the short straw. Not only them who boarded the boat, there were also others like tourists and traders.


    When the ferry was halfway to Havelvaih, the sun was finally gone from the horizon. But, when Cain thought the moon¡¯s reflection was going to shine on the lake, the lake was slowly glowing blue and yellow, denying the reflection of the moon. The glow was illuminating the city in the center of the lake. Then, there were also small sparkling lights on the lake, It was as if the starry night sky latched to the surface of the lake.


    ¡°Woaah¡­¡± Cain¡¯s expression said it all.


    The Hunters just chuckled when they see Cain¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Mee~eip.¡± Beil was on Hoffa¡¯s hands. He also looked to the lake.


    ¡°Olrenea gis neus,¡± said Ziraf to Cain. ¡°The glowing lake that defeated the beautiful moon.¡± he continued.


    ¡°That is true, this is beautiful. The moon is no match for this,¡± Cain could not take his eyes off the lake. ¡°What was that by the way?¡±


    ¡°Olrenea gis neus? It was from the local tongue of Krevias. My grandma used to teach me about it. But that sentence is the only thing I could learn.¡± Ziraf laughed.


    ¡°I see, that¡¯s cool,¡± said Cain. ¡°By the way, what will happen if I swim to cross the lake?¡± asked he.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be pinned down by the mages on the watchtowers that surrounds the city. Of course with water magic, Krevias wasn¡¯t only famous for its lake, but also for the powerful water mages.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Rollei here is a water mage,¡± Vigel pointed at Rollei. ¡°Too bad her rant is stronger than her magic.¡± Viger shrugged.


    ¡°Oh yeah? With this water around, I could send you to the bottom of the lake with just one finger-snap if you don''t shut your mouth, Vigel.¡± Rolley crossed her arms on her chest.


    ¡°Pipe down, will you? Look, that¡¯s the harbor. We¡¯ll be docked soon.¡± said Ziraf.


    The harbor was wide, it was a bit crowded with people and their goods. The pier was almost full by some fancy ships and other ferryboats. Their ferry docked on the large empty pier.


    ¡°Welcome to Havelvaih.¡± said Ziraf as he stepped out from the ferry.


    Yudey brought the cart out and met with the group.


    Cain looked around. He saw the mages on the watchtowers Ziraf mentioned.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the bar at the Hunter Guild, I¡¯m hungry.¡± said Rollei.


    ¡°Me too!¡± responded Vigel.


    ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯m gonna sell these materials first.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Alright. See you there, Boss!¡± said Vigel. ¡°How about you, Cain? You can come with the Boss if you want to sell the materials, he knows the place to sell them higher than the normal price.¡± he added.


    ¡°Yeah, sounds good. I¡¯ll go with Ziraf, I guess.¡± Cain replied.


    Ziraf nodded. ¡°Come on.¡± he took the horse¡¯s reins from Yudey.


    Beil rode the horse again on the head.


    Cain went to the market with Ziraf.


    Havelvaih at night was less lively than Aroum or Haneama. Small stalls were already closed when they arrived at the market. Only the big stalls were still open.


    Ziraf approached one of the stalls with a large building behind it.


    ¡°Ziraf? Got something to sell?¡± said the man behind the stall.


    ¡°Materials from the Horde Brawl, Redle.¡± said Ziraf to the man called Redle.


    ¡°Oh shit, you¡¯ve got something good?¡± asked Redle.


    Ziraf laughed. ¡°You bet. A Sunburst Liger and a Grizzly Demonic Gorilla.¡± said he.


    Redle grinned while nodding. He clapped his hands two times. Then, several men came out from the building behind him.


    ¡°Here.¡± said Ziraf. Those men began to unload the cart after he pointed to his cart with his thumb.


    ¡°So, who¡¯s this?¡± said Redle.


    ¡°Ah, this is Cain, a fellow Hunter. He wants to sell his haul too.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Alright, show me.¡± responded Redle after they shook hands.


    Cain took out some of the materials from the Bag, but not all of them.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ these are nice haul.¡± Redle inspected Cain¡¯s materials.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the rest? You don''t want to sell them?¡± asked Ziraf. He did not see the Mountain Ogre¡¯s eyes and the heart of Whitemold Golem.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll use them for something else.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Alright, young man¡­ that¡¯ll be¡­ 630 Fuls.¡± said Redle.


    ¡°Come on, Redle. He¡¯s a newbie Grass. Help him a little, will you?¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Hmmhh¡­ fine, 700 Fuls.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say you take it, Cain. With that amount, you could live easy in Krevias for a month.¡± said Redle.


    ¡°Pff! Hahah! That¡¯ll only last one week for me.¡± Redle laughed.


    ¡°You should stop drinking and wasting your money in the brothel, Redle.¡± responded Ziraf.


    ¡°Piss off, Ziraf. This man has need. Hahah!¡± said Redle.


    Cain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll take it, thank you.¡± he said.


    Redle nodded then entered the building. After 10 minutes, he came out with three bags, one of the bags was smaller than the two.


    ¡°Here, 700 Fulls coin for you,¡± Redle gave the small bag to Cain. ¡°And 9590 Fuls coin for you, Ziraf.¡±


    ¡°Woahh! 9590!?¡± gasped Ziraf.


    ¡°Yeah, 6000 Fuls alone for those rare materials you brought,¡± said Redle.


    ¡°Looks like my group¡¯s gonna have a party tonight! Alright. Let¡¯s go to the Hunter Guild, Cain,¡± said Ziraf. ¡°Later, Redle.¡±


    Cain nodded a bit to Redle, then they rode the cart to the Hunter Guild.


    ¡°Your group let you handle the money alone?¡± asked Cain.


    Ziraf laughed, he was handling the horse¡¯s reins. ¡°I know them since they were kids, I cherished them. We split every haul and the quest rewards equally. And yeah, they trust me with those.¡± he glanced to the coin bags.


    Cain was thinking, maybe he, Lexa and Higa would be like Ziraf and his group if the incident with Kingsmight never happened.


    The cart stopped in front of a huge building, the Hunter Guild of Krevias branch.


    Ziraf took his bags. ¡°Come on.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Beil.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Mee-eip.¡± Cain put Beil to his hand.


    ¡°Here,¡± Ziraf tossed a coin to a teenager near them.


    Then, the teenager led the cart to somewhere behind the building.


    Cain and Ziraf entered the building. They looked around on their right. The right area was the bar, while the left area was for Hunter Guild administration.


    ¡°There.¡± Cain pointed to a table. Vigel was waving at them.


    They walked to the table. On their way, Cain looked at a group of people with armor he had seen before.


    As he got closer, one of the armored men who had his back on Cain suddenly stood up, turned around and bumped into Cain.


    ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry, I didn''t se-.¡± after he saw Cain clearly, the man was aghast.


    So was Cain.


    ¡°Bagulv!?¡±


    ¡°Cain!?¡±


    They said at the same time.

 Chapter 31 - It鈥檚 Your Lucky Day

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± asked Bagulv.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ you can go ahead, Ziraf. I¡¯m gonna talk to him a bit.¡± said Cain to Ziraf.


    Ziraf just shrugged and went to his group.


    Bagulv invited Cain to sit with the Kingsmight. ¡°Do you want a drink?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Not now.¡± Cain replied.


    Cain sat down with the Kingsmight members on the long wooden chair. Unfamiliar faces. Cain just assumed they were Bagulv¡¯s squad member. 8 Kingsmight members were there, including the Captain.


    Bagulv sat across from Cain.


    The table was empty, no food, only 8 half empty mugs of beer were there.


    Beil jumped from Cain¡¯s hand to the chair, yawned, then slept.


    ¡°You don''t hate us, do you, Cain?¡± asked one of the Kingsmight members. He was a serious-looking man.


    Cain frowned. ¡°Why would I? I only hate those seven as human beings, not because they are Kingsmight. It would be dumb to justify their action as the entire Kingsmight member¡¯s action, right?¡± responded Cain.


    The man smiled. ¡°Wise, the King really taught you well.¡± he said.


    ¡°Speaking of him, I met the old man and the Vice Captain Ivela at Farferis.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You met the King and my sister?¡± responded Bagulv. ¡°Ah, I think I heard the news, Farferis became a slave-free Kingdom as the late King fell, and Arozora was invited to the Coronation Day of the new King. Also, there¡¯s a young man who assisted the Sun Knight Order, together, they toppled the late King, and he fought toe to toe with the infamous Old Beast, the young man raged his blue flames, resulting death of thousands from the opposing side. Then, this young man was granted a Master Honor title by the new King for his bravery. And you said you were there? Do you happen to have this ¡®Master¡¯ title, Cain?¡± he asked curiously.


    All of the Kingsmight members were looking at him.


    ¡°No¡­¡± said Cain. ¡°... It¡¯s only valid in Farferis. And that thousands of death part is exaggerated.¡± he smiled.


    They chuckled.


    ¡°Quite an achievement, huh?¡± said Bagulv.


    Cain just smiled. ¡°What¡¯s Kingsmight doing here?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°We¡¯re on an expedition. More than that, it¡¯s classified.¡± said Bagulv.


    ¡°But why here? I mean, this is a Hunter Guild, this is why I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I forgot you are a Hunter. Well, this bar is open for public. Besides, I heard they have the best grilled Saberfish here.¡± Bagulv replied.


    ¡°Where is our food anyway?¡± asked one of the Kingsmight members.


    ¡°We just ordered it 10 minutes ago, maybe they¡¯re still cooking it.¡± said another Kingsmight.


    ¡°Where are the rest of your squad?¡± Cain asked Bagulv.


    ¡°Classified.¡± Bagulv replied.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Your friends?¡± asked Bagulv. He glanced to the table where Ziraf¡¯s group was.


    ¡°We just met this noon.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m kinda, I don¡¯t know, amazed? Or just feel weird.¡± said Bagulv


    ¡°What?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°You know, you handled that incident with rather composed attitude until the end. Even though your dear friends just died, in the next day, you showed no pain, I know there was, but it''s like, you¡¯re kinda cold, a bit emotionless,¡± said Bagulv. ¡°Ah, forget what I said, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± he continued.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. I can talk about it,¡± Cain smiled bitterly. ¡°The pain, it¡¯s still here even now. Cold, huh? Yeah, I have some of that. But I¡¯m not born with it, I¡¯ve been tempered, and hardened by it.¡± he said.


    ¡°You sound like you¡¯ve been through something like that.¡± said Bagulv.


    ¡°More than once, but that was part of the training.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Training? You mean your training with the King?¡± asked one of the Kingsmight members.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m also wondering, how did our King train his disciples?¡± asked Bagulv.


    Cain laughed lightly. ¡°Your sister also asked about it when we met,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°That¡¯s Carals for you.¡± said another Kingsmight. The Kingsmight members laughed.


    ¡°Well, I don''t know how Kingsmight¡¯s training regiment is, but to me, the training given by the old man was ruthless, physical that is. The mental training? It was nightmare.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°One day, he gave us pets. I got a little bird, Higa got a monkey, and Lexa got a kitty. The old man told us to swap our pets every month, he also said to take care of them with love, so we did that. Then, after a year, the monkey was found dead, we cried and refused to train for 3 days. When we finally out of our room in the fourth day, we found the bird dead, and the cat a week later. Then, Igo gave us other pets a month later. It just repeated, our pets died again. Our hearts were broken. Then the old man came clean, he said he was the one who killed the pets. Of course we asked why, he said to train us. Do you know what he said after that?¡± asked Cain.


    The Kingsmight members were looking at him intensely.


    ¡°If only on the second day you were out of your room, you would have prevented the second death of your pets. While you were weeping in your rooms, I snapped the bird¡¯s neck, and strangled the cat with some vines. What he said. He also told us if we lost something, never lose the sight of what we have left.¡± Cain smiled bitterly.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°We hated him for that,¡± Cain continued. ¡°We did not come to the forest to train for a month. But we finally came to the forest after our anger subsided. He was there, waiting for us for the entire month. Before we asked why, he told us when he lost his wife, he lost his way, he was at his weakest, vulnerable. He said, if only someone had challenged him then, he would have lost the control he had. We didn¡¯t understand the last part. But we knew, the old man in front of us had been through far worse than what we just had, he wanted us to be prepared for it because bad things will eventually happen to us or to the people around us, and at least, let us tasted it, so when the second one hit us, we could face it better. That was just the beginning, he gave us more that kind of training after that. Thankfully we managed to keep our sanity, because we had each other, I guess.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Shit, that¡¯s deep. And that kind of mental training is brutal. The King forced you to get used to the mental pain as a part of the training.¡± said one of the Kingsmight members.


    ¡°I know he lost the Queen, but I never thought our King felt that way, he has those cheerful smiles all the time, damn it!¡± said another Kingsmight.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a mask, if you mean by that. He is a kind person, but when he trained us, he yelled a lot.¡± Cain laughed a bit.


    ¡°So, let me get this straight,¡± one of the members frowned, ¡°With that kind of training, do you feel lesser pain? I mean like, you become a heartless person?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that, I wept for my dead friends, no heartless person would shed a tear, right? It¡¯s just because of that training, I have a better control over my emotion, that kind of emotion that could make me do something I would regret later.¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see¡­ that¡¯s why the King just responded like that when he knew his two disciples were murdered,¡± said Bagulv. ¡°I don''t know what I would do if something happened to my family. To think you and the King were still thinking straight right after that, must be a damn high mental resilience.¡±


    Cain just smiled. He took the sleeping Beil and stood up. ¡°Looks like your food is coming,¡± said Cain as he looked to the waitress with a 6 feet long grilled Saberfish that was coming to them, it was enough to feed all of the Kingsmight members, or even too much for them. ¡°Well then, good luck on your expedition.¡± he added.


    ¡°You won¡¯t join us, Cain?¡± asked one of the Kingsmight members.


    ¡°His friends are waiting for him.¡± said Bagulv to the Kingsmight, then he looked at Cain. ¡°You too, Cain. Good luck, wherever you go.¡± he continued. The other Kingsmight members smiled and nodded to Cain.


    After Cain ordered some food and a glass of cold red tea to the waitress, he went to Ziraf group¡¯s table.


    He sat with them, and put the sleeping Beil on his lap. The table was already filled with their food.


    ¡°Cain! tell me! Are they Kingsmight!?¡± Vigel asked in a low voice with a serious face.


    The others were also eager to know.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ they are Kingsmight,¡± said Cain. ¡°What? Are you guys their fans or something?¡±


    ¡°We are!¡± said Ziraf. They looked so excited.


    ¡°Hoo¡­ well, it¡¯s your lucky day, do you see the one with silver hair?¡± said Cain without looking at the Kingsmight members. He had his back on them.


    The Hunters tried to peek without being seen as an excited group.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, we saw him! What¡¯s up with him?¡± asked Rollei, no less curious.


    ¡°He is the Captain of Kingsmi-¡±


    ¡°The Silver Ogre!?¡± Ziraf cut Cain¡¯s words, of course with a low voice. He was wide-eyed.


    ¡°Holyshiiittt! That¡¯s why he¡¯s the only one with three blue stripes!¡± Vigel hands were on his head.


    ¡°We saw you talking to him. How do you know him?¡± asked Rollei.


    The waitress came to them with Cain¡¯s food.


    ¡°... Why don¡¯t you say hi to him? He¡¯s friendly.¡± Cain ignored Rollei¡¯s question.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! It¡¯s a rare chance to meet the Silver Ogre!¡± said Trom.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ziraf led his group to the Kingsmight without further ado.


    Ziraf¡¯s group went to them, Bagulv and the others greeted them warmly, he even invited them to eat together.


    When the other guests and Hunters saw Ziraf¡¯s group talking with the Kingsmight, they decided to join them. In no time, the Kingsmight¡¯s table was crowded with people. They wanted to see the Right Hand of the Mighty Iligo and the infamous Kingsmight.


    ¡°(Damn, didn''t know he is also famous outside Arozora.)¡± thought Cain.


    Bagulv glanced towards Cain. Cain just shrugged at him while sipping his tea.


    After a while, the crowd finally dispersed. The Kingsmight finished their Saberfish and went out.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I shook hands with the Silver Ogre!¡± Vigel was still excited.


    ¡°And I thought they would be an arrogant group! Did you see how one of them offered us to eat with them?¡± said Trom.


    Ziraf¡¯s group sat back to their table.


    Beil already woke up, he was munching Cain¡¯s food. he sat on Cain¡¯s lap while his forepaws were on the table.


    ¡°This is a good day!¡± said Rollei. ¡°We got a good haul, and we met the Kingsmight!¡±


    Yudey nodded in agreement.


    ¡°How do you know them, Cain?¡± said Ziraf, he was calmer, but there was still a bit of excitement in his face.


    ¡°I met them couple of times.¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky!¡± responded Vigel.


    Cain just shrugged.


    ¡°Hey, how about we take a high reward quest for tomorrow? I get a feeling we¡¯ll get something good! How is it?¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Yeah! I get that feeling too!¡± said Trom.


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Ziraf nodded, ¡°How about you, Cain?¡± he looked at Cain.


    ¡°Yeah, you want to come, Cain?¡± asked Vigel.


    ¡°Thanks for the offer, but I already have a plan for tomorrow.¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Heh, too bad, I could teach you a thing or two about how a veteran Hunter does things, y¡¯know.¡± said Rollei.


    ¡°Maybe later. Well, I guess it¡¯s time to find a place to stay. You guys know any cheap inn around here?¡± said Cain.


    With Cain¡¯s money that he just got, especially the high grade diamonds, he actually could live like a King for a year, but he¡¯s not the type to spend his resource on a whim.


    ¡°Duh, we live here, of course we know,¡± said Rollei. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll take you the best cheapest inn around here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awfully good of you, Rollei!¡± gasped Vigel.


    Rollei just glared at Vigel.


    ¡°Alright, if you don¡¯t mind, Rollei.¡± Cain stood up. Beil jumped to the floor, ready to follow Cain.


    ¡°Thank you, guys.¡± Cain shook hands with the Hunters.


    ¡°We often hang out at this bar in the evening, you know where you can find us if you need help or something.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Thanks! See ya.¡± said Cain.


    After he paid his food, Cain went out with Rollei. They walked the night street. Beil followed them. Rollei just walked, no words came out from her mouth. It¡¯s unusual for Rollei to be this calm, thought Cain. But Cain just assumed maybe because her banter-partner wasn''t here, or she wasn''t friendly to a Grass she just met, Just like this noon. ¡°(But why she¡¯s taking me to an inn if she isn''t friendly?... Hmm¡­ she has a foul mouth, but maybe this is the way she shows her good side?¡± Maybe.)¡± what Cain had in his mind.


    Rollei stopped at a fork in the street.


    ¡°Go right, you¡¯ll find many cheap inns around the corner.¡± said Rollei.


    ¡°Okay, thanks, Rollei.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Rollei just turned around and went back to the direction they came from.


    ¡°What? Just that?¡± Cain frowned. But his words were too far to reach Rollei.


    ¡°Meip?¡±


    ¡°... Yeah, let¡¯s go, Beil.¡± said Cain. They went to the direction Rollei pointed.


    After a few minutes. They arrived into a complex filled with violet and red lumines crystals.


    ¡°Mhh! A handsome one! And young! How is it, handsome? Want to taste me?¡± said a beautiful woman who was juggling her breast with her hands. She wore a revealing clothes.


    ¡°...¡± Cain stopped a bit, looked at her, then walked again.


    More women asked the same thing as he walked. Some of the women made him gulped. But they were nothing compared to Ivela, Cain ignored them. He looked to a man that went inside to a cheap-looking inn with a woman while grabbing her ass, some even with multiple women, or vice versa.


    ¡°(Damn it! This is not what I meant by cheap inn! This is a prostitution complex! She got me!)¡± thought Cain, he realized where he was.


    Meanwhile at the Hunter Guild bar, after Rollei told Ziraf and the rest where she took Cain, they burst into laughter.

 Chapter 32 - A Picturesque Morning

    ¡°Morning,¡± greeted a middle aged woman with a thick makeup to Cain.


    Cain was descending the stairs from the second floor, Beil followed him around his feet. He just smiled to the woman. Cain stayed at one of the inns. The inn that usually used by those pleasure seekers.


    ¡°You¡¯re the first customer in this line of work that spent the night alone in my place,¡± said the woman.


    ¡°I was tricked,¡± Cain scratched his head.


    ¡°Meh, even though you¡¯re tricked into coming here, shouldn¡¯t you be tempted by those women out there?¡± the woman cleaned her counter.


    ¡°They¡¯re very tempting,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Then? Ah, not my business, you paid your room, I won''t judge.¡±


    Cain just shrugged. ¡°Hey, do you know where I can buy a set of potion-brewing tools?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°What? Are you an alchemist? Ah, again, not my business,¡± said the woman, then she told him where to get those tools.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Cain nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, come again sometimes.¡±


    ¡­


    Cain went to a market called Bivili Market. On his way, he noticed there were lots of people in the street. ¡°(It¡¯s so lively, quite different when the sun goes down.)¡± thought he.


    He arrived at the market after ten minutes of walk. The market wasn''t as big as Pama Market. He looked at the structure of the buildings, mostly the two stories building, they were slightly different from the buildings in Arozora or Farferis, every wall of the buildings had a wave-like sculpting, it was cascading one another. Some roof of the buildings had large statues, the statues of the Goddess of Nazula and the Dragon Tyrant Rex.


    What was more surprising in Cain¡¯s eyes were the people. He was like in the sea of people.


    ¡°What is this? Is there a celebration or something?¡± he said.


    When he asked a merchant in a fruit stall, the merchant laughed.


    ¡°You¡¯re not from around here, huh?¡± asked the merchant, ¡°this is the daily bustle in Havelvaih! This market is indeed the most crowded area, but you will find the other areas are no less crowded!¡± he said enthusiastically.


    ¡°The whole city is crowded like this?¡± asked Cain. He was surprised.


    ¡°Yeah, like I told you, it¡¯s a daily bustle in Havelvaih. Well, except the area near the Hunter Guild, Mear Street, where the red-light district of Havelhaih is. Because you know, they do it inside those inns, besides, it¡¯s in the corner of the city, so it gives no access to other areas. No one comes there except for the pleasure.¡±


    ¡°(Except me!¡­ hmm, that¡¯s why that place is not that crowded compared to this area.)¡± thought Cain. He nodded in response and continued his walk, to the sea of people. Beil climbed to his shoulder and stayed there. Attracting some eyes and giggles. After a few minutes, he stopped in front of a small shop and made sure it was the shop the inn owner mentioned. He opened the wooden door that had a rectangle blurry glass on its center.


    When he entered the shop, the fragrance of herbs extract was dancing in the air. It induced a relaxing atmosphere. Cain looked around the shop. Even though the shop was small, the owner managed to make it looked spacious with his/her well-placed furnitures and tools. Hanging potted plants also decorated the ceiling, making the shop looked fresh. Beil jumped down from Cain¡¯s shoulder and followed him.


    There were some people in there, enough to make a queue, but not enough to make the place cramped. Three shop clerks were serving the people, Cain just waited while looking at daily equipment for alchemists inside the glass cases around the shop.


    When he was looking at the potion-brewing tools, a short old man with a cane came to him.


    ¡°Are you interested in that?¡± said the old man.


    ¡°Ah, yeah, I want to buy a set of it,¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Hmm, are you an alchemist, young man?¡± asked the old man.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ not really, I just know a thing or two.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± grumbled the old man. Cain could see a bit of disappointment in the old man¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re a traveler, you should buy a portable one, ask for the Greansmith product to the clerk, it¡¯s the most compact, and very durable,¡± said the old man. Then he walked away with a limp, helped by his cane, to behind one of the counters.


    Cain just looked to the old man until he¡¯s gone from Cain¡¯s view. After that, Cain bought the potion-brewing tools, from the Greansmith product. The old man was the owner of the shop according to the shop clerk when Cain asked about him. Cain also bought some herbs from the shop.


    He surfed the sea of people once again, looking for tasty food, for breakfast. Tempted by the smells, he bought some skewered fish meatballs with peanut sauce by the side of the street, still in the market area. He ate the meatballs with Beil while sitting on the high stool in front of the stall.


    ¡°Hmm, this is good,¡± said Cain as he ate the meatballs, ¡°you like it, Beil?¡±


    Beil did not answer him, he was too distracted by the taste of the meatballs. He was munching them happily. Cain just smiled and rubbed Beil¡¯s head. ¡°What a good taste to start the day,¡± said Cain.


    Then, they went out from Havelvaih. He wanted to enjoy the lake because he did not get the chance yesterday. They strolled around the shore. With its white sand and warm breeze, it was a picturesque morning.


    Cain saw some teens were practicing water magic there. Dozen teens, not more than 17 years old, supervised by two women and one old man with a long beard, the old man was observing the students while sitting cross-legged on a huge rock. From their uniform, Cain could tell they were students, as the other three were the teachers. Cain sat casually on the sand while watching them. Beil ran to the lake and swam cheerfully.


    ¡°Water magic, huh?...¡± mumbled Cain, ¡°I bet Lexa cou-...¡± Cain stopped his words.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I need a distraction.¡± Cain stood up and went to the teachers, he asked one of the teachers if he could swim in the lake.


    ¡°As long as you don''t try to cross. I¡¯ll drown you before the mages on the watchtower could see you coming,¡± sneered the woman.


    Cain did not question the teacher¡¯s attitude, probably she just had a bad mood, thought Cain. He just nodded and left them.


    With that, Cain swam in the lake with Beil after he buried his stuff with earth magic and left his trousers on him. He had a well-built physique, with some scars across his body. The biggest one was a four-claw scar from his left shoulder to his chest, others were just simple scars.


    He swam with Beil and dived into the well-lit bottom of Olren Lake, looking at the vibrant aquatic plants on the lake bed. When he had enough, he rested on the shore, sitting on the white sand, still with just trousers.


    Beil got out from the lake after a while and walked towards Cain.


    Suddenly, a water ball almost hit Beil. It exploded on the sand near his feet. Beil was startled and quickly ran towards Cain.


    ¡°Meip! Meip!¡± cried Beil on his run. More water balls shot out and exploded on his trail.


    Then, a stone wall was erected at Beil¡¯s side, protecting him from the water balls. The stone wall was a long one, long enough to gave him a safe passage towards Cain.


    It was Cain¡¯s wall, he was already standing, looking at where the water balls came from. He looked over the students, two of them had water balls floating around their hands.


    Cain glared at them with piercing eyes. ¡°You okay, Beil?¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil cowered and peeked at the students from behind Cain¡¯s right foot.


    ¡°Yo, man, that¡¯s out target practice.¡± said one of the students. He stood in front of the others, he¡¯s like their leader or something.


    Cain looked to their teachers, they were chatting with each other, then he looked at the students. ¡°He¡¯s not a target practice, he¡¯s my little friend,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Hahah! You hear that?¡± the leader was laughing, followed by other students. ¡°I said it¡¯s our target practice!¡± he shot another water ball at Beil that showed his head from Cain¡¯s foot


    Cain moved his right foot slightly and took the water ball in the shin. His right lower trousers were torn up to the knee, leaving a bruise on his right shin. Beil was shocked and moved to Cain¡¯s left foot.


    ¡°Now you¡¯ve done it,¡± said Cain calmly, he stomped the sand lightly with his right foot. Then, the sand was surging towards the students. When it reached them, the sand threw them with its wave-like forces.


    The students were thrown a bit far, with cries and moans, they quickly got their teacher''s attention.


    ¡°What is this!?¡± yelled one of the teachers. She walked to the students, her hands were on her hip. Imposing an arrogant gesture.


    ¡°He attacked us!¡± said the leader while pointing at Cain.


    She shifted her gaze towards Cain. ¡°You attacked my students!?¡± the woman angrily shouted at Cain.


    ¡°They are the ones who started it,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Did you just say my students are bunch of delinquents?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they have no manners, just like you,¡± Cain replied. He was getting annoyed.


    The other teachers just stood watch.


    ¡°You! How dare you!¡± the woman casted a water magic, a long whip made of water appeared from her hands.


    ¡°What¡¯s their problem??¡± Cain frowned, then he sighed. ¡°Take cover, Beil.¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil took a position a bit far from Cain, behind a rock.


    The woman whipped the water to Cain.


    ¡°(What!? This attack!? She is serious!)¡± thought Cain as he did a side step to dodge the whip.


    The water whipped the sand, and quickly retracted.


    ¡°Yeah! Kick his ass, teacher!¡± said the students.


    ¡°(What the freaking heck is wrong with water mages in this Kingdom!? They¡¯re so easy not to listen to other people¡¯s explanation! I don''t understand, are they really that arrogant!? And why is she using an elemental creation magic with all this water around?)¡± thought Cain.


    The elemental creation magic was indeed more useful than the elemental manipulation magic, if the said element was not around. But it was a stupid move to use a water creation magic over the manipulation magic with a lake just literally next to them. There were always pros and cons regarding the elemental magic. The elemental manipulation magic used less energy to cast, but harder to control. While the elemental creation magic hogged the caster¡¯s energy with high consumption, but easier to control.


    All those who were blessed with elemental creation magic were also capable of doing elemental manipulation magic, because it was from the manipulation magic the caster learned how to control their summoned elements. And those who weren¡¯t, could only dream to cast the element out of thin air, but they were no less powerful than the elemental creation magic casters.


    ¡°(Is she showing off? Impressing her students? Or, she¡¯s teaching her students right now on how to use the water creation magic properly rather than just firing a water ball? Or maybe she lacks the grip of controlling the element with the manipulation magic? That can¡¯t be.)¡± Cain was assessing the situation he couldn''t understand. The students, the teachers, all of that while dodging the water whip.


    Then, a water ball shot out from the lake direction, hitting the teacher in the temple, instantly knocked her out.


    ¡°Teacher!?¡± the students were startled. Their teacher just suddenly knocked out by an outta-nowhere water ball.


    The other teachers also got surprised.


    ¡°Who!?¡± the students were puzzled. They were looking at the lake, but no one was there.


    ¡°That was me, don''t worry, it¡¯s just a mild concussion.¡± said Cain, ¡°and that is how you shoot a water ball properly,¡± Cain gave them an intimidating glare.


    Then the old teacher walked forward. ¡°Who are you, young man?¡± he asked. He looked at Cain with curious eyes.


    ¡°No one, just a man who¡¯s pissed because his little friend was treated as a target practice by your mannerless students,¡± Cain replied.


    The old teacher looked at his students, then to the unconscious teacher.


    ¡°Isore is one of the top water mages in Krevias, I taught her myself decades ago,¡± said the old teacher, ¡°We, the water mages, are the proud protector of Krevias Kingdom. And you, who suddenly showed up and knocked off one of our best easily¡­ hmm, with this, I, Tirkogara, one of the Five Water Saints, declare you as a dangerous man towards Krevias,¡± he stroked his beard while saying that.


    Cain sighed. ¡°Look, I don''t want any trouble, but your students are the ones who started it.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, my students did nothing wrong, it¡¯s you who got too close to our training area.¡± said the old teacher.


    ¡°(Aah, now it all makes sense, where their arrogance came from. They are the important part of Krevias as the protector of the capital city. So they think it¡¯s alright to act like they are superior to others. Besides, this elder ignores, perhaps even encourages arrogance to his students. And did he just say he is one of the Five Water Saints?)¡± thought Cain.


    Igo once told him that the Water Saints were the governors of Krevias Kingdom. As Krevias did not have one sole ruler for the Kingdom, like a King a or a Lord, the Water Saints ruled the Kingdom instead. They voted among themselves to solve any problems regarding the Kingdom¡¯s well being. There were five Water Saints, each of them was a powerful mage with incredible ability. But Cain never knew they had such bad attitude.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain rubbed his chin.


    ¡°You seem to understand what will happen to you, huh?¡± said the female teacher.


    ¡°What will happen to me?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°You will bow down to us, and beg for forgiveness,¡± scoffed the old teacher.


    ¡°Oh boy, Ziraf could¡¯ve told me not to step on these water mages,¡± mumbled Cain, ¡°any other option?¡± he asked.


    The old teacher laughed. ¡°Of course, You¡¯re young, maybe you¡¯ll foolishly challenge me, but what you don¡¯t not know is, this world isn''t as good as you think. I¡¯ll beat you and force you on your knees, then, I will hear you, begging, for me to stop,¡± said the old teacher with a smug smile, ¡°so, what will you choose?¡±


    Cain scratched his forehead with eyes closed. He looked like he was thinking hard. Then, he smiled and chuckled.


    ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought this beautiful lake is protected by a bunch of prideful and rotten protectors,¡± said Cain, ¡°and I¡¯m actually itching for a good fight after that Horde Brawl,¡± followed by a grin on his face.


    ¡°Come!¡± Cain shouted confidently.

 Chapter 33 - The Prideful Water Saint

    ¡°Let me handle him, Sir,¡± said the female teacher. She was calmer than Isore.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll handle him myself. This brat has to feel my lesson directly,¡± Tirkogara replied.


    With a hand movement, Tirkogara casted water magic. Water appeared around his body. As he took a stance, the water flowed around his body.


    ¡°(Again? More elemental creation magic?)¡± thought Cain. He also took a stance, the water from the lake was swirling towards him. Floating behind him as a huge ball of water.


    ¡°Huh! Just manipulation magic? Pff! It won¡¯t stand a chance against me! Manipulation magic alone is already a let down!¡± sneered Tirkogara. He clenched his fist, as he punched the air, the water around him turned into three water fists as big as him and flew towards Cain.


    Cain¡¯s huge water ball splashed and formed a thick half sphere barrier in front him.


    The fists exploded when they collided with Cain¡¯s water barrier. Cain jumped backward to get away from the water. But another fist was coming from above. He formed a thin high density wave from whatever left of his barrier and split the fist in two.


    Tirkogara already casted another magic, eight water drills was floating around him.


    ¡°Freis, take Isore and the students away from here, but close enough to see him getting obliterated by my magic,¡± Tirkogara laughed.


    The teacher called Freis nodded, she took the students away from there. Then, they watched the fight from a safe distance.


    Tirkogara pointed his right palm towards Cain. As he clenched his fist, the water drills flew towards Cain one by one. Tirkogara with his eight water drills bombarded Cain.


    Cain jumped aside after he tapped the sand with his hand when the first water drill came to him. Then, he tapped another spot before he dodged another water drill. He kept dodging the drills as he moved, circling the Water Saint. The water drills exploded around the area, but the place where Beil took cover was untouched, Cain made sure not to let the drills touched Beil¡¯s shelter by moving to certain spots.


    All the drills missed the target, Cain had already back to his initial spot. He opened his left palm, water was swirling from the lake onto his palm, forming a water ball as big as his head.


    ¡°You won''t be able to dodge this one!¡± said Tirkogara. He raised his right hand, then, a water ball also appeared above his hand, but much bigger than Cain¡¯s.


    Cain quickly threw his water ball to Tirkogara¡¯s water ball. It did not explode upon contact, it slipped into the bigger water ball instead. A second later, Tirkogara¡¯s water ball popped, but it was not a threat for Tirkogara. It was like a giant balloon of water popped above his head. It soaked Tirkogara¡¯s robe, with his own water.


    Tirkogara stood still, but his face clearly showed a rage.


    Cain kneeled on one knee and lightly tapped the sand. A yellow light sparked on the spot he tapped. The spark ignited other sparks on the spots where Cain tapped the sand when he dodged the water drills. Eight spots sparked with yellow lightning, all of them sparked around the Water Saint, shaping an eight-sided polygon, an octagram. Tirkogara was in the center of it. It was a wide octagram, the diameter was about 24 meters.


    The sparks were getting violent, then, a complex rune appeared inside the octagram. Electrocuting everything inside the the octagram.


    With Tirkogara¡¯s soaked robe, Cain assumed it would amplify the electrocution intensity, but the Water Saint wasn''t even looked electrocuted even a bit. There was a water circle around his feet, the lightning couldn''t bypass that that. When the lightning spark had calmed. Tirkogara had no wound at all.


    ¡°Lightning magic, huh? You certainly surprised me. But I wouldn¡¯t be a Water Saint if I can¡¯t handle that,¡± scoffed Tirkogara.


    ¡°I see, pure water, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Cain as he stood up.


    ¡°Heh, I thought you would be a clueless man!¡± Tirkogara had a smug look on his face, ¡°correct, pure water is an insulator, unlike those water from the lake that contains so many dissolved ions, which is a good conductor. Even if you try to soak me with water from the lake, I can purify it with my own water!¡±


    ¡°(That¡¯s why! He¡¯s relying on his own creation magic to prevent his enemy to take advantage of his element! I thought he only used elemental creation magic because its superiority!... Probably superiority took the biggest part in it as he mocked manipulation magic earlier.)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? Come on, show me more, But heed this, I will never be electrocuted! You better start begging!¡° said Tirkogara.


    ¡°You asked for it. Don¡¯t worry, this is not to electrocute you!¡± said Cain. Then, yellow lightning sparked on his palm.


    The octagram was glowing. A second later, yellow lightning erupted from the entire octagram. Unlike the first one, it meant to strike, like a bolt of lightning from a storm cloud, but it was from the ground instead.


    ¡°Guh!¡± Tirkogara was struck by the yellow lightning, his robe absorbed most of the damage, ¡°this is nothi-!¡±


    Another lightning flashed from the octagram. It was more intense than before.


    ¡°Grahh!¡± growled Tirkogara.


    The third lightning, the largest one struck him. It made a thunderous sound as the last one struck. The octagram slowly dispersed after that.


    It was Gomara¡¯s lightning magic, Eight Cardinal Points of Soiled Lightning.


    Tirkogara kneeled on the ground, his robe was partially burned. But his condition was fine.


    Freis was wide-eyed, she couldn¡¯t believe that man was able to make the Water Saint kneeled. She wasn''t even confident she could make Tirkogara moved from his spot.


    The students were aghast, they thanked themselves they did not taste those lightning strikes.


    Tirkogara gritted his teeth as he got up. ¡°You fucking brat!¡± the Water Saint glared at Cain, he lost his composure.


    ¡°Still standing? mages in here must¡¯ve been through an excessive training against magic, huh?¡± said Cain. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°You¡¯ll mock me no more!¡± yelled Tirkogara. He was angry, he never thought he would be forced on his knees by some random man.


    Tirkogara curled his body, then, he swung his hands up as he arched his back. Water appeared far above him, forming a shape, a gigantic shape.


    ¡°Look! That¡¯s how a Water Saint obliterates his enemy!¡± said Freis to the amazed students.


    The water formed a gigantic blue whale. It was in a diagonal position as its back faced Cain. As if it were breaching from the sea. It was a spectacular view, a gigantic blue whale was flying in the sky, but not for Cain, he was in the shade of the whale.


    ¡°Eat my magic!¡± shouted Tirkogara. The water whale fell down as he sharply lowered his hands towards Cain.


    ¡°Shit! Beil!?¡± Cain realized Beil was still here, he looked at Beil, ¡°Beil! Run to the lake! Get away from there! Now!¡±


    ¡°Me-meip!¡± Beil hesitated, he looked worried.


    Cain looked back at the falling gigantic whale in the sky, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me! Go!¡± Cain shouted as he casted a five-layered arched stone wall. Between each layer, sand was added.


    Beil ran as fast as he could to the lake, looked back a bit, then ran faster.


    ¡°So this the power of a Water Saint!¡± Cain grinned. ¡°Damn! This won¡¯t be enough!¡± Cain casted more layers to the wall. Even though the wall stood six times taller than him, it still looked small compared to the gigantic whale.


    ¡°Begone, brat!¡± said Tirkogara.


    The blue whale struck the shore of Olren Lake.


    Cain¡¯s wall couldn''t even held the falling whale for a split second, it crushed into pieces instantly, and Cain, swallowed by the water. The sand was thrown everywhere as the whale splashed into huge towering water. The ground trembled, making a rippling wave on the lake. The shore had been devastated by Tirkogara¡¯s Whale Breaching water magic.


    After a while, the water finally calmed down.


    Tirkogara looked around, he saw some of Cain¡¯s wall rubble, but he saw no man in his view. He smiled, a satisfaction filled his face. He brushed off his robe.


    Freis and the students came to him from behind. Two students were carrying Isore.


    ¡°You swept him with stunning magic, Sir, as always,¡± said Freis.


    Tirkogara turned around. ¡°That was nothing, easy win!¡± he laughed.


    The students looked at Tirkogara proudly.


    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s what you get for messing with a Water Saint,¡± Tirkogara scoffed, ¡°well, looks like we have to change place to continue the practice.¡±


    ¡°Shall we take a break, Sir? With Isore that¡¯s still unconscious and all,¡± said Freis.


    ¡°Hmph¡­¡± Tirkogara rubbed his beard, ¡°you¡¯re right, we proba-¡±


    With a loud sound, the sand behind Tirkogara exploded. He and the others were startled.


    A figure appeared from the rising smoke.


    They could hear the panting and coughing.


    ¡°Ha-ah¡­ I just had deja vu¡­ it felt like those jet water cannon from years ago,¡± Cain wiped his face with his hand, ¡°but, this one is weaker. Thank Goddess, Lexa and the old man used to hit me a lot harder. But I must say, Water Saint¡¯s magic is no joke.¡±


    The speed when Tirkogara casted the Whale Breaching was astonishing, he formed a gigantic whale just under five seconds. It needed an extraordinary focus and concentration to make something like that.


    ¡°Impossible! He survived that!?¡± gasped Freis.


    ¡°(How!? Probably his earth magic! Tch! More importantly, with that whale flying in the sky just now, people from the city must be coming here right now to investigate. And if they know I used my high level magic just to deal with him and failed, I¡¯ll be a laughing stock!)¡± Tirkogara panicked.


    ¡°That attack was meant to kill, huh?¡± said Cain. He looked over to the lake. ¡°(Hopefully Beil made it.)¡± Cain himself did not suffer any injury, he survived Tirkogara¡¯s Whale Breaching unscathed thanks to countless water attacks from Igo and Lexa back in the day.


    ¡°You! Who are you? Are you a spy!?¡± shouted Tirkogara.


    ¡°(I must finish this fast, that whale must¡¯ve attracted the people of Havelvaih. It would be bad if they find out I¡¯m fighting one of their rulers.)¡± thought Cain.


    He looked at the Water Saint. ¡°I¡¯m not. Come, let¡¯s finish this!¡± exclaimed Cain.


    Cain raised his right hand. Flame appeared around his forearm. Accumulated above his palm, forming a heat-emanating fireball as big as his palm with lightning sparks circling the fireball.


    ¡°Is he a fool? He¡¯s using fire magic against us, Water mages?¡± said Freis.


    ¡°...¡± Tirkogara just stared at Cain, ignoring Freis.


    ¡°I¡¯ll finish him, Sir!¡± said Freis. She casted water magic, three giant seahorses-shaped water lances appeared above her diagonally. As she snapped her fingers, the water lances launched towards Cain with a ballistic trajectory.


    Cain stood still as the lances came. Those water lances suddenly evaporated when it came near Cain, as if there were an invisible heat barrier in front of him.


    ¡°Stand down, Freis,¡± said Tirkogara.


    ¡°But, Sir!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s more dangerous than I think,¡± responded Tirkogara.


    Suddenly, blue flame intruded Cain¡¯s fireball flow on the forearm. The blue flame ravaged his red fireball, then turned it blue.


    ¡°(What? Azure flame? But I did not active the bracelet,)¡± Cain looked surprised, then he glanced at the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone, it was still in bracelet form.


    The lightning sparks around the fireball were getting more intense, also the heat, it was getting hotter by the second. Cain¡¯s body was soaking wet, but not from the water earlier, but from his sweat.


    The heat also reached Tirkogara and the others.


    ¡°What¡¯s with this heat!? I can even see a heat haze around him!¡± Freis wiped her sweaty forehead.


    And the students, with their panic expressions. Even the breeze did not help with the heat.


    ¡°Get away from here, Freis,¡± said Tirkogara, ¡°as far as you can,¡± he continued.


    ¡°Sir?¡±


    ¡°That man¡¯s ability, it¡¯s nothing to sneeze at, and I have a bad feeling about that blue flame,¡± Tirkogara looked intensely at the blue flame.


    Cain frowned as he looked at the fireball. He was still confused about the blue flame.


    ¡°This heat... the fireball is getting stronger because of the blue flame?... I¡¯ll worry about this later.¡± he said. Then he pointed the fireball towards Tirkogara. He saw the other teacher and the students went away.


    Tirkogara put his both hands in front of his chest. A water ball was condensing on his chest. His robe fluttered as the water ball came to completion. The water ball had two water rings on its outer layer. Inside the water ball, there was a creature, wriggling.


    Cain and Tirkogara stared at each other. Cain just grinned.


    ¡°Rraaah!¡± Tirkogara shot his water ball, it flew straight towards Cain.


    Cain took his right foot forward, with a stomp from his right foot, the fireball fired from his palm. The lightning formed a tail-like electrical current behind the fireball.


    Cain¡¯s fireball, with its lightning tail, was coming towards Tirkogara¡¯s water ball. The sand was flying everywhere when those balls made their ways, into their inevitable collision.


    Then, the creature inside the water ball came out. A giant moray with tiger-like stripe, flying towards Cain¡¯s fireball.


    Cain pulled his hand as he clenched his fist. A lightning spark and a blaze of blue flame escaped from his palm before he formed a perfect fist. Cain¡¯s fireball became unstable, then, it burst out, forming a giant blazing head of a fierce dog. It¡¯s three times bigger than the eel. The blazing dog growled as it showed off its lightning fangs.


    Cain used Scorching Lightning Canines, Gomara¡¯s double elemental magic.


    When they collided, the dog wiped the eel with its snout. The Water Saint¡¯s eel reduced into ashes when it touched the dog, the ashes were scattered in the air. Cain¡¯s dog was making its way to Tirkogara.


    ¡°No way!? That can¡¯t be! Grrr!¡± Tirkogara desperately casted four thick massive water cubes, straight-lined between him and the blazing dog head.


    The dog accelerated even more, the water cubes could only evaporated when the dog forced its way through.


    Tirkogara encircled himself with dozens floating water shields.


    With its mouth wide open, the dog pounced on the Water Saint and his water shields.

 Chapter 34 - It has no taste

    A blinding lightning flashed with a thunderous rumble. It blew the area where Tirkogara was. Explosion after explosion devastated the sand, lightning spikes erupted from the exploding area.


    ¡°What in the name of the Goddess¡­¡± Freis looked at the explosion with the students.


    They could see a glimpse of splashing water. But it did not hold long. When the explosions and the lightning had calmed down, the area was enveloped with smoke, vapor and dust. The breeze slowly swept them away, revealing a crater, with a few mini craters inside it. Some of the blue flames were still scorching the sand.


    Tirkogara was there, lying on the ground, unconscious. The upper part of his robe were torn apart. He had blisters all over his old yet still a bit muscular body.


    ¡°Well¡­ he¡¯s still alive,¡± Cain was panting a bit, the Scorching Lightning Canines took no small amount of his energy. ¡°I guess it¡¯s over.¡±


    He looked around, he could see the teacher and the students were coming towards Tirkogara.


    ¡°I should go, before the people from the city show up,¡± Cain walked a bit then stomped the sand. His buried stuff emerged from the sand. He took his stuff and looked over the lake. ¡°Ah, there he is.¡±


    Beil was swiming towards Cain. ¡°Meip!¡± he cried out. Cain wore his clothes while waiting for Beil to come. When Beil came out of the water, he shook the water off his fur, then Cain petted him.


    ¡°You look alright, let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡± responded Beil. They went to the city while avoiding the people that came to investigate.


    ¡°Grah!¡± Tirkogara got up from the ground. He waited for Cain to go, he actually faked his faint. ¡°Fuck! It hurts!¡± he tried to touch his wounds.


    ¡°Sir! Are you alright?¡± Freis came with the students.


    ¡°I¡¯m alive, Freis, thankfully my robe is an ancient relic with high magical resistance. But shit, he ruined it. What a power!¡± Tirkogara looked at whatever left from his robe.


    ¡°Sir, people from the city are coming this way,¡± Freis glanced to the city direction, ¡°and that man is already gone, what should we do?¡±


    Tirkogara growled. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. I don''t want to explain the wounds on my body to them. And you!¡± he looked at the students, ¡°If any of you tells the people  about what just happened, I¡¯ll feed you to the Dragon Tyrant Rex! All of you!¡±


    The students just lowered their heads in fear. Some of them realized it¡¯s their fault to begin with, if only they did not mess with that man.


    The Water Saint tried to stand up, Freis held him to help.


    ¡°I can stand up by myself, Freis!¡± yelled Tirkogara.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Sir¡­¡±


    ¡°Tch! You must be wondering why that man did not finish his job, finish me off, eh?¡± said Tirkogara.


    ¡°N-No! I wouldn¡¯t dare, Sir!¡± Freis replied.


    ¡°...¡± Tirkogara started walking. Freis and the students followed him, Isore was still unconscious, she was being carried by two students. ¡°That man is clever, he didn¡¯t kill me, because he knows what I am to the city, he could have more troubles If he kills me and gets caught. He just got the best outcome from that fight, he beat me but also avoided more troubles by letting me live¡­ no! he hasn¡¯t beaten me! I still haven¡¯t lost!¡± Tirkogara clenched his fists, he looked very angry, his pride led him to a young man that gave him a humiliation after all.


    ¡°Avoided more trouble? Aren''t we going to report him to the other Water Saints, Sir?¡±


    ¡°No! I could lose my position if they know it! And if other Kingdoms hear a young man beat a Water Saint, They¡¯ll laugh, damn it! Tirkogara gritted his teeth, ¡°you, you will find information about him, Freis. But don¡¯t let the other Water Saints know about this!¡±


    ¡°Understood, Sir,¡± responded Freis.


    ¡­


    Evening at Krevias Hunter Guild


    ¡°So, Ziraf, what happens if a Water Saint lose a battle?¡± asked Cain. He was hanging out with Ziraf¡¯s group while having dinner. Beil sat on Hoffa¡¯s lap while munching some snacks.


    ¡°Huh? Water Saint? You mean one of those Krevias rulers?¡± asked Ziraf.


    Cain nodded while sipping his cold red tea.


    ¡°If the water mages like to insult you, then the Water Saints like to push you on the ledge. No offense, Rollei,¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°None fucking taken, Vigel,¡± Rollei replied.


    ¡°So, back to my question, what will happen?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Well, that Water Saint will lose his title for sure if that is in the actual official challenge battle. But if you outta nowhere challenge one of them, no judge or some sort and you win, well nothing will happen, in the public at least, but that Water Saint will do anything in his power to eliminate you, from the shadow of course,¡± said Ziraf.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°In the public? You mean if someone fights Water Saint with no reason and win, the winner won¡¯t become a wanted man? It¡¯s not a crime? Like posters of the criminals are in every corner of the city?¡± Cain was puzzled.


    ¡°Hahah! Maybe they will, but, everyone in the city knows the Water Saints are bunch of assholes. Most cases, they¡¯re the one who started the fight. Unless you attack them without any reason, they have no reason to put your face in every corner of the city,¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Yeah, they are bunch of prideful old men, even if you attack them and win, I think with their pride, they won¡¯t even think to put bounty on your name. It¡¯s like they announce they have been defeated by someone, they have too much pride to do that,¡± said Trom.


    Yudey nodded in agreement.


    Hearing that, Cain felt his worry was being washed away a bit.


    ¡°How can you live in the city with these kind of rulers?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Heh, as long as you don''t stare them, ask them questions or bump into them, you have nothing to worry about,¡± said ziraf.


    ¡°That¡¯s just basically stay away from them,¡± responded Cain.


    Vigel shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s how it is in Havelvaih,¡± he said.


    ¡°As long as they rule Krevias, especially Havelvaih without their pride in the way, and prioritize their obligations as the rulers first, we have nothing to complain. Besides, with their foul mouth, people nowadays just think those as their rants.¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Speaking of Water Saint, did you hear? There was a sighting of water magic that only Water Saint could pull off this noon,¡± said Rollei.


    ¡°Yeah, I heard that, apparently when the guards came to the place, there was no one, but there were traces of a battle,¡± said Vigel, ¡°traces of a big battle,¡±


    ¡°Probably just a Water Saint thingy to show off, like to their students or subordinates,¡± said Ziraf.


    Vigel and Rollei just shrugged. They apparently did not make a big fuss about it.


    ¡°Alright then, I should look for an inn, like a real inn,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want my help anymore to find a cheap inn, Cain? sneered Rollei.


    Ziraf¡¯s group laughed.


    ¡°Just once is enough, Rollei,¡± Cain also laughed, ¡°come on, Beil.¡±


    ¡­


    Cain rented a room at an inn in the city, a proper inn. It wasn''t cheap nor a luxury room, but it was a spacious room on the second floor. After he washed his face, Cain sat on the floor with his back leaning on the left side of the bed, he was reading Book of Gomara. Beil was sleeping in the bed, curled his body.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain flipped page after page, then he stopped at Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone page. ¡°There¡¯s nothing new on this page.¡± he said.


    Cain casted a ball of fire on his palm, it was blue, Azure flame. He extinguished the fire and casted the fire again, Azure flame still.


    ¡°I can''t cast normal red yellow flame anymore...¡± Cain frowned, ¡°probably because of you.¡± Cain looked at the bracelet.


    ¡°It strengthen my fire magic, maybe it''s one of its ability. Can¡¯t complain if it makes me stronger.¡± He extinguished the flame and opened his bag. He took out the potion-brewing tools and the materials from the beasts he did not sell.


    He prepared the tools after he opened the window. From a mini foldable tripod to a volumetric glass, he arranged them all on the floor. The reason he rented a spacious room was because of this.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡¯s not as complete as I thought,¡± Cain rubbed his chin, ¡°well, it¡¯s portable after all.¡±


    He checked the tools one by one, flicking his finger to the tripod, he checked the tripod sturdiness. ¡°That old man is right, these are fine quality tools!¡±


    Then Cain prepared the materials, the herbs he bought and the organs of the beasts he extracted from the Horde Brawl.


    ¡°Thankfully I don''t have to look these by myself. Horde Brawl is really good,¡± said Cain as he chopped the heart of Whitemold Golem into little cubes. Smeared the Mountain Ogre¡¯s Eye with grinded herbs.


    He lighted the burner under the tripod and boiled the chopped heart in the beaker glass. Sprinkled other ingredients into the boiled water with his right hand, his left hand, was holding the Book of Gomara.


    ¡°Thank Goddess, Gomara wrote this with detailed step by step on how to do it,¡± mumbled Cain.


    After half an hour, specks of grey foam began to appear from the heart. Cain took out the heart but he let the foam in the glass. Then he put the eye into the glass, he stirred the eye and the foam slowly. The vapor safely went out from the window.


    He cut his palm and let three drops of his blood boiled with the ingredients as the catalyst.


    What Cain was making was a long lost body-enhancer potion, tweaked by Gomara into an advanced blood poison-absorber potion. Gomara named it Poison Reserver potion.


    A body-enhancer potion was actually a rich-amino acid potion to help synthesizing the protein and such inside the body. But Gomara discovered a totally different function with different beast¡¯s organs as the ingredients.


    Cain¡¯s body was immune to poison thanks to Hineru stem, but it wasn''t permanent like an inborn gift. Many warriors and fighters assumed their poison-resistant bodies were permanent after they acquired it from some ways outside the inborn gift.


    But when they lost some of their blood, their poison-resistant substance was also flushed out from their bodies little by little. To prevent this, skilled warriors had no choice but to redo their training when they lost their resistance to poison when they had deep wounds that made them lost so much blood.


    Gomara found a way to skip this hassle, he invented a potion that would make the poison-resistant substance could be absorbed by his flesh, his organs, even by the tiniest form of human structure, cell. This way, he wouldn''t have to worry when he gravely injured.


    The liquid inside the glass turned into blue. Cain looked at liquid. ¡°Now, just have to wait for an hour, the book said.¡±


    Cain got up and took his bag, he took out the map he got from Igo.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ that Water Saint is going to try to eliminate me from the shadow? Oh well, at least I did not reveal my name to them, so it should be hard to find me in this bustling city, I guess.¡±


    Cain unfold the map on the floor. ¡°Where should I go next?¡± mumbled Cain, he looked over the map.


    ¡°Maybe¡­ ah, wait,¡± Cain rubbed his chin, ¡°there is still Dragon Tyrant Rex I want to investigate¡­ and maybe there are other must-see places in the city, I should ask Ziraf tomorrow.¡±


    Cain spent his time making other potions for his travel.


    After an hour passed, Cain looked at the beaker glass, the blue liquid was boiling. Cain moved the potion into a slim transparent flask. Oddly, the liquid wasn''t even hot after moved.


    Cain gulped at the Poison Reserver potion. ¡°Permanent poison resistance, here I come!¡±


    He drank the potion.


    ¡°It has no taste? I thought it would be super bitter,¡± said Cain, he put down the empty flask.


    ¡°Hmm!?¡± Cain began to feel strange, ¡°ha, hehae!?¡± he couldn''t feel his tongue and mouth. He tried to move his right hand, but it just stayed still. Slowly, he fell to the floor with a little thud. He had a short convulsions before his eyes rolled up, leaving no trace of the iris.

 Chapter 35 - A Familiar Face

    ¡°You know, Cain, I¡¯m gonna be a famous artist one day! And I¡¯ll have my own exhibition! Displaying all my works there in my own extravagant gallery in the city! You know, like the Grand Museum in Libelishe Kingdom!¡± said Higa enthusiastically. He was drawing on his book, Cain sat next to him. They were at Emerald Horn inn.


    ¡°We haven''t been there, how do you know how it¡¯s like?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Heh! Grand Museum is every artist¡¯s dream, Cain! Don''t you dare mock at my future!¡±


    ¡°It was a question, Higa the greatest artist of all time,¡± sneered Cain.


    ¡°See? That¡¯s a mockery right there!¡±


    ¡°Wouldn''t it be better if you make it like a troupe? You travel around the world, while showing off all of your arts or whatever instead of performance or act. And by doing so, I bet you could learn a lot for your drawing or painting,¡± Cain shrugged.


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s a good idea!¡± responded Higa.


    ¡°You realize we have to fail at Kingsmight entrance test to travel as we please, right?¡± said Lexa, she came to the table with drinks for them. It was late at night in the inn, only few people left drinking at the bar.


    ¡°Shush, Lexa! Just give this man a dream,¡± Cain chuckled.


    ¡°Ah, damn right,¡± said Higa, ¡°but at least Kingsmight sends one or two of its squads for expedition, hmm¡­ if I become a Kingsmight, the money I get maybe could afford a building or two in the city, for my gallery of course!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, maybe I also could open a restaurant or something!¡± exclaimed Lexa.


    ¡°Ooh! Lexa the slowest chef is marking the history on culinary culture!¡± said Cain while laughing.


    ¡°Hehe, of course that¡¯s all after we travel around the world, right?¡± Lexa smiled, did not bothered by Cain¡¯s joke.


    ¡°Of course!¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Oho! Look at those eyes, Lexa! The eyes of the landscape-hungry person!¡± said Higa.


    ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m seeing that!¡± Lexa laughed.


    They all laughed.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Cain looked at Lexa, ¡°Lexa, why are bleeding!?¡±


    He stood up to see her clearer.


    Lexa was bleeding on her chest, blood was licking its red on her clothes.


    ¡°Oh? That? Isn''t that because of you, Cain?¡± said Higa as he and Lexa stood up. The table and the chairs were thrown to the side by them.


    ¡°Wha-?¡± Cain looked over Higa, his clothes was soaked with blood, there was even a red puddle under his feet.


    ¡°Wh-what¡¯s happening!?¡± Cain panicked when he saw that.


    ¡°You failed to keep your promise, Cain,¡± said Higa.


    ¡°I took an arrow for you, and look what at what you¡¯re doing, enjoying your adventure? Just like that?¡± said Lexa.


    ¡°N-no! It¡¯s not like that!¡± said Cain.


    Higa and Lexa walked slowly towards Cain. They slowly turned into blood, still with their familiar faces. In a blink of an eye, Lexa stabbed Cain on the chest with her hand. Higa, on Lexa¡¯s back turned into swords, then flew, pierced Cain¡¯s body, exactly on the spots just like when Higa died.


    ¡°Gaahh!!!¡±


    Cain woke up, he was panting, sweating. He was pale, his lips were chapped.


    He blinked repeatedly and looked over his surrounding.


    ¡°Akh¡­¡± he rubbed his throat, ¡°so thirsty.¡± He took a glass of water from the table without standing up. He drank the water in one go.


    ¡°Puahh!¡± he wiped his mouth, ¡°how long I¡¯ve been out?¡± he said. He looked at the window, it was still dark outside.


    ¡°Damn dream¡­¡±


    Cain stretched his body, cracking some bones. He tried to stand up, but his legs were enervated. He mustered his strength to sit on the bed and made it.


    ¡°Haahh¡­ huh? Beil?¡±


    Beil wasn''t there.


    Cain looked at the door, it shut tight, but he could see a bit of scratch mark on the lower part of the door. Then he looked at the window.


    ¡°Probably he went out from the window,¡± said Cain. There was a large tree in front of the window, Cain thought Beil probably woke up and went out from the window.


    ¡°Hmh¡­ weird, I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± he said.


    Cain clenched his right fist repeatedly. ¡°I hope that potion works¡­ oh well, everything from the book never fails me.¡±


    After a while, he washed his face on a bowl of water and cleaned up the potion-brewing tools.


    ¡°Maybe I should grab a snack¡­¡±


    Cain went out from his room, and descended the stairs. He saw Beil at the desk in front of the main door. He was being rubbed by a woman behind the desk.


    ¡°Wow, you look so tired, no wonder you¡¯ve been holed in your room for the entire day. Are you alright?¡± asked the woman. She was the innkeeper.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright¡­ wait, what do you mean the entire day?¡± Cain looked puzzled.


    ¡°...¡± the woman looked at Cain, ¡°the last time I saw you was yesterday,¡± she said.


    ¡°What?? You mean¡­ ugh¡­ I¡¯ve been out for a day because of that potion?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Potion?¡± asked the woman curiously.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Cain, ¡°alright then, I¡¯ll rent the room for two more days.¡± Cain gave her a couple of coins.


    The woman just nodded in response. Then, Cain and Beil went to the Hunter Guild. He left his stuff at the inn.


    Krevias Hunter GuildIf you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°What the actual freak! You look worse than Rollei when she¡¯s on her period!¡± said Vigel when he saw Cain.


    ¡°And you look worse than him right now, Vigel,¡± Rollei replied.


    ¡°What happened to you?¡± asked Ziraf.


    ¡°Uhh, it¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just tired,¡± replied Cain, he sat with them. Then called the waitress and ordered some food.


    ¡°Hey, did you hear the news from Heindop Town?¡± asked Trom.


    ¡°Heindop? The eastern town of Krevias?¡± responded Ziraf.


    ¡°Yeah, they saw a fleet from Jarvagr Continent near Sharksea Tribe Island. You know, those weird-ass flying ships of ¡®em,¡± said Trom.


    ¡°Flying ships?¡± asked Cain curiously.


    ¡°Yeah, just like those ships in the sea, with those sails and all, but they have weird parts attached on them, and sail in the sky. Only Jarvagr Continent has that kind of ship, must be magic or some kind of ancient technology,¡± replied Trom, ¡°too bad they¡¯re so cheap to share their techs.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like they¡¯re on friendly term with us,¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°True, well, they¡¯re the ones who lost in the past war, they don''t have to play nice with us,¡± said Ziraf, ¡°and as long as Valfikr still has the Mighty Iligo, I bet they¡¯re reluctant to pay us back.¡±


    ¡°Wait? The King of Arozora?¡± asked Vigel.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know, Vigel? Really?¡± Rollei with her smug face looked at Vigel.


    ¡°Please, do tell me, o lady Rollei,¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Huh, as you know, we used to have war with the Kingdoms of Jarvagr Continent, it was bad, heard that from my grandma. Even when we got help from Farferis, it was just combat slaves. Then, a man appeared, he offered to help us, but what Krevias did not expect was, that man, single handedly sunk a dozen fleets of Jarvagr. That heavy loss made Jarvagr halted their war plans, then a year later, that man ascended to Arozora¡¯s throne with a fair challenge of Ruler¡¯s Truth, until now, no one ever snatched that throne from him. When our Jarvagr neighbor heard the man that caused them heavy loss became the King, they stopped their interest towards Valfikr, not even a small raid to Valfikr east beach line was seen after that,¡± explained Rollei.


    ¡°Holy shit! Single handedly!? thank Goddess, King Iligo does not have war seeker mind. I can¡¯t imagine what kind of destruction he could bring if he decides to,¡± said Vigel


    ¡°(Ah, I heard that, the old man said he once helped a certain Kingdom because he did not want to see the Kingdom¡¯s lake becomes the collateral damage of their war. That¡¯s when he told us about Olren Lake. And flying ship? I¡¯d like to see it one day,)¡± thought Cain.


    The waitress came with Cain¡¯s food.


    ¡°Oh yeah, guys, are there any must-see places in the city besides the lake?¡± asked Cain to the group.


    ¡°Ah, I forgot you¡¯re a wandering Hunter, you want to sightseeing, eh?¡± said Ziraf.


    Cain nodded in answer. He gave Beil some of his food.


    ¡°Hmm, there is a marvelous temple in north Havelvaih, the Great Temple of the Goddess,¡± said Hoffa.


    ¡°Or Bivili Market, that place is super crowded, but the food stalls in there are my favourite,¡± Vigel added.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been to Bivili, it has intriguing buildings, and of course, the food there is delicious! Right, Beil?¡± exclaimed Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil seemed to agree.


    ¡°Okay then, looks like I have my destination tomorrow,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious, you haven''t taken a single Hunter quest since you came here, right?¡± asked Vigel.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± answered Cain.


    ¡°You don''t need money? I know you got a good haul from the Horde Brawl, but it¡¯s not going to last, Cain. You should start to take up quest,¡± said Ziraf.


    Cain took the last bite of his food and drank his glass of cold red tea to its last drop. Then he smiled


    ¡°Wait! Don''t tell me, you''re actually a prince from a distant kingdom. Like a illegitimate child or something, and you¡¯re here because you¡¯re banished from your homeland in your brother¡¯s fear you might disturb his succession to the throne!¡± said Vigel.


    Rollei rolled up her eyes with a groan.


    Cain got up from the chair. ¡°Who knows,¡± he smirked to them, ¡°thank you, guys. See you later.¡±


    Cain went back to the inn with Beil. When Cain hit the bed, he quickly fell asleep even though he just slept an hour ago.


    ¡­


    In the morning, Cain and Beil were in the crowd of Havelvaih city street, looking their way to the Great Temple of the Goddess.


    After Cain asked some people in the street, they arrived at the temple.


    It was a huge temple, four large pillars with painting of water waves supported the carved stone roof. A wide stairs between two waterfalls on each side was the entrance to the temple.


    ¡°Whoa¡­¡±


    There were many people there. Some of them also astonished to the view, others just entered the temple right away.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Beil!¡± Cain couldn¡¯t wait to see what¡¯s inside.


    When they entered the temple, they were greeted by a spacious hall. Filled with carved stones and paintings, in the middle, there was a huge statue of the Goddess with stretching hands to the left and right, water was streaming around the statue¡¯s hands. Around the hall, there was a small water way on the granite floor with some plants on the pot around it, making the hall felt pretty fresh. The carved holes on each corner of the ceiling made the hall well illuminated.


    Cain saw some of the people there were kneeling in front of the statue, asking for blessing and such.


    He continued to the next room, it was another spacious hall, yet it was totally different from the previous one, it was beautifully illuminated with blue and yellow light from the pool around the hall. The water was glowing like Olren Lake. No holed ceiling there, so no sunlight entered this hall, only the light from the water, as if it were night. In the middle of the hall, there was a fountain, with a little statue of the Goddess on top of it.


    ¡°This is beautiful¡­¡± Cain walked around.


    A group of robed women came and petted Beil with their curious faces. Cain just shrugged and left Beil to them.


    Cain proceed to the next room. It wasn¡¯t a big hall, but big enough to throw a party there. With a statue of Dragon Tyrant Rex in the end of the room, this room was illuminated with lumines crystals around the wall. There were six pillars in the room, oddly, the pillars were not tall enough to touch the ceiling, only halfway to the tall ceiling. There were big water spheres on the top of each pillar.


    There were lesser people here than the previous rooms.


    Cain observation in the room halted when he saw a group of old men were talking each other not far from him. What made Cain cautious was their robes, they wore robes that were identical to the Water Saint¡¯s robe he fought two days ago.


    He swiftly got behind the pillar. Then, from the entrance to the room, he saw two familiar faces, two women.


    It was Freis and Isore. Isore had a bandage on her forehead. They walked past Cain and the pillar, to the group of old men.


    ¡°Greetings, Water Saints,¡± said Freis and Isore, they both bowed their heads.


    ¡°At ease, Isore, Freis. I don''t see Tirkogara since two days ago, where is he?¡± asked one of the Water Saints, he had a heavy voice.


    ¡°(What are Water Saints doing here!?)¡± thought Cain, ¡°(wait¡­ temple¡­ saint¡­ crap! Are they related!? Is this their base or something!?)¡±


    ¡°Not need to worry, Sir Algas, Sir Tirkogora is resting after he pulled off a series of high water magic to explain how strong water magic is to the students two days ago,¡± said Freis.


    One of the Water Saints scoffed. ¡°He¡¯s too old, he should be looking for his successor by now, hahah!¡±


    ¡°What happened to your head, Isore?¡± asked the Water Saint called Algas.


    ¡°Ah, this is because of my training, Sir,¡± Isore replied.


    ¡°Pff! See? Even his student can¡¯t protect herself from a silly injury! How the heck Tirkogara taught you, huh?¡± said the Water Saint.


    ¡°Silence, Jeggra, it¡¯s no use mocking his students while he isn''t here, do that when he¡¯s here,¡± scoffed Algas, ¡°though you¡¯ll always welcome to become my bed warmer, Freis,¡± Algas smirked, he looked at Freis throughly from head to toe even though Freis¡¯s body was fully covered by a long robe.


    Freis and Isore couldn''t say a thing. But Cain could see Freis was clenching her left fist.


    ¡°(... Even among themselves they are like that, huh? They even harassed that Water Saint¡¯s subordinate.)¡± Cain peeked at them from behind the pillar while trying not to be seen suspicious by others.


    Then, a woman entered the room. Cain glanced at her. ¡°(Huh? I think I¡¯ve seen her before,)¡± thought Cain.


    She walked to the Water Saints. All eyes in the room were locked into her, she was a beauty with a bewitching smile.


    ¡°Ah, gentlemen, I¡¯d like to discuss something with Miss Fe privately,¡± said Algas.


    The Water Saints nodded and left Algas and the woman called Fe.


    ¡°Attention! The Water Saint Algas is gonna use this room, move your ass out from here!¡± exclaimed one of the Water Saints to the people in the room.


    With that, people there went out from that room.


    ¡°(I think I should go, it¡¯s bad just being here! Oh shit!)¡± Cain quickly went back to behind the pillar. Freis and Isore were walking to the entrance. They were the last people there besides Cain, Water Saint Algas and the woman called Miss Fe.


    Freis turned around at the entrance and raised her hands, a layer of water closed the room.


    ¡°(Damn it, she closed the entrance¡­ how do I get out from here without being seen!?)¡±

 Chapter 36 - Fe

    ¡°Now, what do I owe you for your visit, Miss Fe?¡± asked Algas. He looked at Fe with lecherous eyes.


    Fe wore a tight corset underneath her unbuttoned sleeveless coat. Her cleavage became Algas¡¯s eyes feast.


    ¡°Stop looking at me like that, that¡¯s disgusting, you know?¡± even though Fe said that, she smiled. Then, she looked at the pillar where Cain hid. ¡°Besides, there¡¯s still someone here.¡±


    ¡°(Crap!)¡±


    ¡°What? Where??¡± Algas looked around.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ nevermind, just my imagination,¡± said Fe.


    ¡°(That was close!)¡± thought Cain. He blended with pillar¡¯s shade with Abyss Lurker. ¡°(Now I remember, that woman is the one I saw at Master Aslein¡¯s place!)¡±


    Fe crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°Progress?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s going smoothly, what about the others?¡± Algas replied.


    ¡°Not really good, we¡¯ve lost control over Farferis.¡±


    ¡°I heard that, too bad, huh? Well, I have no expectation from that weak king to begin with, who¡¯s his name? Termura or something,¡± said Algas.


    ¡°Indeed, and by the looks of it, the new King of Farferis couldn''t be influenced by us,¡± said Fe.


    ¡°And the worst news is they become a slave-free kingdom, what a joke, I used to buy their bed slaves, ooh, their bed slaves were excellent goods!¡± said Algas.


    ¡°Krevias is also a slave-free kingdom, yet you bought slaves from them. Oh, how ironic the ruler of this kingdom is,¡± scoffed Fe.


    ¡°Not your business, woman!¡± Algas was a bit annoyed.


    Fe scoffed at Algas. ¡°Well, Arozora is no go, our plan to weaken that Kingdom has failed, and our spy is sniffed out by Kingsmight. It¡¯s impossible for now,¡± said Fe.


    ¡°Hrrm¡­ that fuckin¡¯ Iligo is too damn strong!¡± exclaimed Algas.


    ¡°(What is this? What are they talking about? Arozora? Farferis? Is this some kind of scheme? Spy? in Arozora? Does she mean the one that Ivela mentioned?)¡± Cain listened at them from the shadow.


    ¡°Then? What are you going to do?¡± asked Algas.


    ¡°Nothing, just continue the plan.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take it too long, otherwise I wouldn''t be able to enjoy the fruit!¡± said Algas.


    ¡°A scheme needs a perfect plan, a carefully prepared preparation and a flawless execution. Rushing it is only stupidity,¡± said Fe, ¡°you should¡¯ve learned how we handle things by now.¡± Fe smiled lightly.


    ¡°Tch, whatever! As long as I¡¯m on the winning side,¡± responded Algas.


    ¡°You¡¯re, old man. Just don''t forget where your loyalty is when all of this ends,¡± said Fe as she left Algas.


    She walked to the entrance, but after she walked past all the pillars, she stopped. She looked at one pillar. Then she walked towards it. She touched the pillar while looking around.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong?¡± shouted Algas from afar.


    ¡°... Nothing,¡± said Fe, then she left the pillar, she walked through the water layer. Her clothes were still dry even though she just walked through the water.


    Then, Algas also walked to the entrance. ¡°Just you see, Fe, I¡¯ll have my way with you one day! Heheh!¡± he talked to himself as he walked through the water.


    The room was silent for a few seconds.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Cain emerged from the shadow, he was panting, he held his breath when Fe was checking the pillar.


    ¡°I have to get out from here!¡±


    After Cain found Beil, he carefully made his way out from the temple.


    Krevias Hunter Guild.


    Cain sat at the bar, then he asked the waitress for a cold drink. He looked around, Ziraf¡¯s group wasn''t here. He also looked out for the Water Saint, or any of his subordinates in that bar. He became a bit wary of his surrounding.


    ¡°What have I stumbled upon? They¡¯re clearly planning something, and I get the feeling it¡¯s not a good one,¡± mumbled Cain.


    ¡°Meip?¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, Beil,¡± said Cain. He drank his drink. ¡°They certainly have tried something at Arozora and Farferis¡­ and who¡¯s that woman called Fe? That woman acted like she has a higher stance than that Water Saint, that means she¡¯s a hotshot. Also, she was in Farferis when we took the throne. And how that Water Saint called Algas talked about Igo, he doesn''t seem to like Igo, even though Igo helped Krevias in the war with Jarvagr Continent? Ugh, this is confusing! But more importantly, just like Ziraf said, that Water Saint Tirkogara has no intention to put me on the wanted list as his subordinates hid the truth. But, chances are he¡¯s still looking for me to settle the score.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain leaned on the chair, ¡°I should write to Arozora and Farferis, let them know what I¡¯ve learned today. And perhaps, leave Krevias and continue my journey? It becomes uncomfortable knowing someone here has a grudge on me. Also, I don''t want to get involved with this Kingdom¡¯s scheme and its problem. If it¡¯s a real problem, I¡¯m sure the old man and Calbot can handle it. I¡¯ll just let them know beforehand.¡±


    That night, Cain wrote three letters, one for Jared, and the other two for Ivela and Aunt Germi. Cain slipped half of his diamonds inside the letter for Aunt Germi.


    ¡°Should I write other than that information for Ivela?¡± Cain scratched his head, ¡°hmm, I¡¯ll just ask how she¡¯s doing, and¡­ maybe more.¡±


    In the morning, after he dropped the letters to the letter delivery service, he went to Bivili Market. He carried his bag on his left cloak-covered shoulder.


    He entered the shop where he bought the potion-brewing tools from. The fragrance of herbs extract greeted him. He walked straight to one of the three shop clerks.


    ¡°Welcome! What can I help you with?¡± said the shop clerk, she was a girl, looked younger than Cain. She was a different clerk from the one who served Cain the last time he was here.


    ¡°Hmm, I want to ask first,¡± said Cain, he looked at the bowl of steel near the shop clerk, where the fragrance came from.


    ¡°Are they Reud and Chirad herbs? The fragrance comes from the combination of those herbs, right?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Sir Ghimo, the owner of this shop loves those herbs fragrance.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Cain. He took out a small plastic cylinder from his waist bag. ¡°Here,¡± Cain gave the cylinder to the shop clerk.


    ¡°Give that ointment to him, that should does him good in the legs,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Ointment?¡± the shop clerk was puzzled.


    ¡°Uh-huh, his legs are hurt, right? I know he got that injury recently, that new cane of his gives it away.¡±


    ¡°... True, he fell from the stairs a week ago,¡± the shop clerk looked at the cylinder, ¡°but I can¡¯t give this to him, he¡¯s allergic to basic ingredients of pain reliever ointment.¡±


    ¡°I know what he¡¯s allergic to; Pompum herbs. People who are allergic to Pompun herbs tend to find Reud and Chirad herbs fragrance is soothing more than the other aromatic herbs. And that ointment, has zero Pompum herbs,¡± explained Cain.


    The shop clerk was stupefied by Cain¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°Who are you, Sir?¡± she finally opened her mouth after a moment of silence.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ a Hunter,¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°That can¡¯t do, you don''t expect me to say to Sir Ghimo this is from a stranger, do you?¡± responded the clerk.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ fair enough, just tell him it¡¯s a thanks from a wandering Hunter whom he helped to choose the potion-brewing tools a couple of days ago, name''s Cain,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Ahh, alright then. Thank you, Sir Hunter,¡± she bowed to Cain.


    Cain just nodded then left the shop.


    What he gave was one of Gomara¡¯s ointments, Cain made that with the leftover ingredients when he made the Poison Reserver potion. And the knowledge about Reud and Chirad herbs being more soothing to people who were allergic to Pompum was actually Gomara¡¯s discovery, it wasn''t known to the world. But Cain did not know this, as he only knew a little bit of basic knowledge about alchemy. Unfortunately, Gomara did not write the common knowledge on his book. So, everything what Cain knew about alchemy from the book was actually knowledge that even this era had not discovered yet, and knowledge that had been lost for ages.


    Before he left Bivili Market, Cain bought some skewered fish meatballs and packed them in his bag. Then he went to the Hunter Guild, he met Ziraf¡¯s group there.


    ¡°Hi guys,¡± greeted Cain.


    ¡°Yoo, Cain, What¡¯s with the stuff?¡± asked Vigel.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to continue my journey,¡± said Cain in answer.


    ¡°For real?¡± Trom was a bit surprised.


    ¡°Yeah, I come here to say goodbye to you guys,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I see, good luck, Cain,¡± said Trom.


    ¡°Be careful out there, eh, rookie Hunter,¡± said Ziraf.


    ¡°Thanks for all your help, Ziraf, you¡¯re a good man.¡± Cain shook hands with Ziraf.


    ¡°Good bye, Cain!¡± said Hoffa as she petted Beil. Cain nodded in answer.


    Cain shook hands with Yudey, he just smiled at Cain.


    ¡°Heh, goodbye, Grass,¡± sneered Rollei, ¡°too bad you missed the opportunity to see my trick!¡±


    ¡°Pff! He¡¯s already sick of it, Rollei!¡± said Vigel, ¡°by trick you mean your rant, isn''t it?¡± he continued.


    ¡°Oh please, my rant won''t be the only one that¡¯ll slap you in the face, Vigel,¡± Rollei replied.


    Cain laughed lightly. ¡°You know, besides being a ridiculous comedian duo, you both are so perfect to be a couple.¡±


    ¡°Oooooo! Damn! Someone finally said it!~¡± Trom looked so amused by Cain¡¯s remark.


    ¡°The heck, Cain!? Really? With this blockhead? Never!¡± exclaimed Rollei.


    ¡°Yea, never with this not ladylike woman!¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Just kiss already, you two,¡± said Ziraf while laughing.


    ¡°For real, Boss!? You¡¯re in this too!?¡± said Vigel.


    ¡°Why am I being surrounded by weird people like you guys?¡± Rollei shook her head.


    Hoffa and Trom just laughed at them, while Yudey looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter.


    ¡°Where are you going, Cain?¡± asked Ziraf.


    ¡°South west. I¡¯ll go to Trako Town, I¡¯m gonna see this Grock Bay, then I¡¯ll cross the border to Ezilai Kingdom, maybe I¡¯ll try to take one or two Hunter quests there,¡± Cain laughed.


    ¡°You should!¡± responded Ziraf.


    ¡°Okay then, bye guys,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Stay on Goddess¡¯s grace, Cain,¡± said Ziraf.


    Cain nodded while smiling.


    He left Havelvaih right away. After he walked a bit far from the lake, he turned around and looked over the Olrenea gis neus.


    ¡°Even without the sunset or the glowing, they really would love to see this lake¡­¡± said Cain as he munched the fish meatballs.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain looked around, then he walked to a lone tree in the steppe. He sat down in the tree¡¯s shade, he took out Higa¡¯s book. He drew the lake with the city as best he could. Beil sat near him, he seemed to be enjoying the scenery.


    After about thirty minutes, Cain was done with the drawing. It was not beautiful nor ugly drawing, it was just mediocre.


    ¡°Well¡­ I did my best, Higa,¡± said Cain.


    He sighed, then he looked over the scenery of Kuni Steppe for a while.


    ¡°Too bad I don''t have the chance to investigate the Dragon Tyrant Rex,¡± he looked over the sea of spire in the steppe, ¡°maybe in the future¡­ shall we go, Beil?¡±


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    Cain continued his journey. He set off to Trako, the southwestern town in Krevias border to Ezilai Kingdom. Leaving the Water Saint who was still searching his whereabout.

 Chapter 37 - A Howl

    Cain stopped at a small village on his way to Trako. It had been three days since he left Havelvaih, he walked with a comfortable pace all this time as he wasn''t in a hurry. It was noon when he rested at the local tavern. The tavern was a more family-oriented tavern than a drinking tavern. A few groups of people were there besides Cain.


    ¡°Traveler?¡± asked the tavern keeper, he was bald, a bit fat with a brown thick moustache precisely shaved as if it were his prized feature in the face.


    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ll take the lunch set,¡± said Cain as he looked at a wooden menu, hanging on the wall behind the tavern keeper, ¡°oh, and this,¡± Cain handed his empty water bottle to the tavern keeper for refilling.


    The tavern keeper nodded.


    ¡°Also some for this one,¡± Cain petted Beil.


    The tavern keeper smiled. He came with a set of food and drink for Cain, and a simpler set for Beil.


    ¡°Hey, how far Trako from here?¡± asked Cain to the tavern keeper.


    ¡°Two days if you¡¯re on foot.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I suggest you go south from here, don''t follow the main road,¡± said the tavern keeper.


    ¡°Hm? Why?¡±


    ¡°The cliff, it has a good view. From there, you can just walk to Trako along the cliff, it¡¯s safe even though it¡¯s far from the main road, no dangerous beasts there. Also, if the weather is good, you¡¯ll see the neighbor¡¯s extravagant beach town from there, well, a bit.¡±


    ¡°Beach town?¡± asked Cain curiously.


    ¡°Yeah, Grock Bay on Krevias¡¯s side was a wall of stone, but on Ezilai Kingdom¡¯s side, it was a long coastline. It¡¯s a perfect place for a vacation,¡± responded the tavern keeper.


    ¡°Hoo, good to know, thanks,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Sure, I often go there with my family, nice place.¡±


    ¡°Heh, must be fun.¡±


    ¡°It is!¡± the tavern keeper laughed.


    After Cain paid him and got his refilled bottle back, he went south, to the cliff of Grock Bay.


    On his way, he opened the Book of Gomara while walking. When he flipped through the pages, there was a new page revealed.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?... poison arts? Ah, must be revealed after I drank that potion¡­ hmm¡­ if the permanent poison resistance is the prerequisite for this, then Gomara¡¯s poison arts must be nasty. But I¡¯ll skip them for now, so many techniques and magic revealed, but so slow to master them,¡± Cain sighed.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil suddenly ran ahead of Cain.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Beil?... Oh!¡± Cain looked over what''s ahead of him.


    A land was seen in the distance. It was the land of Ezilai across the bay. Cain could see a structure, but barely because of the distance.


    He stood on the edge of the cliff. Fresh air ruffled his hair, while the sound of waves crashing against the rocks could be heard from bellow him. It was late noon, one hour left for the sun to set


    Cain looked over his left side, a horizon where the sea met the gentle sky served for his eyes. Then he traced his gaze towards the right side of the land, it was a long coastline that connected at Grock Bay. A meadow on his right was waiting for him before his next stop.


    ¡°I bet it will take us about two weeks or more to get there, Beil,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil started walking to the meadow direction. Cain just smiled looking at Beil.


    In the meadow, he took his time to enjoy the landscape, he also looked at the wild beasts that were not bothered by their presence. Before the moon settled in, he camped in the wilderness, next to a river. After a varied training session, he caught some Green-eyed Nocturnal Rabbits, for their supper.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ my skills on cooking won¡¯t improve if what I¡¯m cooking are just some roasted rabbit legs,¡± said Cain, he and Beil were waiting the rabbit legs. He was roasting the skewered rabbit legs over the bonfire. ¡°That means I have to buy cooking wares¡­ I probably should buy a horse too, to carry my stuff.¡±


    Cain decided to think about it later.


    ¡­


    After three days, he finally saw a town right before a dense forest. The forest was the official border between Krevias and Ezilai Kingdom. And the town was Trako. He took three days, a day longer in the meadow because he didn''t follow the main road.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ finally, Trako Town,¡± Cain looked at the town from the higher ground.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Cain saw a three-tailed grey wolf was being cornered by a group of armored men outside the town, a bit near the forest.


    ¡°That wolf¡­ is not an ordinary wolf!¡± Cain quickly took out the Book of Gomara, he flipped the pages excitedly.


    ¡°This! A Clastival Wolf! A super rare beast!¡± said Cain, ¡°wait!¡±


    The first paragraph after the drawing of Clastival Wolf wasn¡¯t about his characteristic or its uniqueness, but a capitalized sentence.


    ¡®IF YOU FIND THIS WOLF, DO NOT ENGAGE! IF IT¡¯S INJURED, HELP! DON''T LET IT DIE NO MATTER WHAT!¡¯


    ¡°What¡­¡± Cain was puzzled, then he looked again at the wolf. It was injured on its left hinder leg. The people who cornered it were attacking the wolf with weapons while keeping their distances, and the wolf was just defending.


    ¡°I should help the wolf?? But those men, they¡¯re probably the town¡¯s guardsmen. Maybe I can persuade them¡­ but if not, I have no choice but to get rough. Anyway, why the wolf didn¡¯t just run away or fight back?¡±


    Cain looked at the page again. ¡°A Clastical Wolf has low combat abilities¡­ a non-aggressive beast¡­ it¡¯s a Kralv of its forest¡­¡±


    ¡°Low combat abilities despite being a wolf, huh? And a Kralv? What¡¯s that?¡± Cain scratched his head, ¡°ah, whatever!¡± Cain closed the book, he did not read the whole page about the wolf.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Beil, you stay here!¡± said Cain as he put his stuff down. Then he covered his face except the eyes with the cloak.


    He took a leap, to the wolf and the guardsmen.


    ¡°Damn, this wolf is tough!¡± said the guardsman.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be over soon! Keep your focus!¡±


    A guardsman shot an arrow to the wolf, the beast couldn''t even try to dodge the arrow because of its injury.


    Thankfully, Cain came in time, he stepped the flying arrow as he landed between the wolf and the guardsmen.


    ¡°That was close,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Whoa! Who are you!?¡± said one of the baffled guardsmen.


    ¡°Where did he come from??¡± said another guardsman.


    ¡°Sorry, but I can''t let you kill this wolf,¡± responded Cain.


    The guardsmen looked at each other.


    ¡°Are you stupid or what? That is an exotic rare beast! We will not kill it, we¡¯ll capture it and sell it! For the coins! Hahaha!¡± exclaimed one of the guardsmen, followed by other guardsmen laughter.


    ¡°...¡± Cain just looked at them. There were eight guardsmen.


    ¡°Who are you, huh? You look suspicious with your face covered,¡± said the guardsman.


    ¡°I¡¯m no one, just passing by, but I can¡¯t let you take this wolf.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, go away, man. This beast is our coins,¡± grumbled the guardsman, he walked towards, Cain.


    When he tried to grab Cain¡¯s collar, Cain hit him in the chin with his palm, and swept the guardsman off with a sweeping kick to the legs. The guardsman was knocked out, flat on the ground.


    ¡°What the!? Be careful! This man wants to take our beast!¡± shouted another guardsman.


    ¡°I won''t hurt you if you just let the wolf go,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the guardsmen pointed their weapons towards Cain, ¡°attack!¡±


    ¡°(Gomara better has reasons about saving this wolf!)¡± thought Cain as he took a stance.


    One of the guardsmen jumped and swung down his medium-sized steel axe. Cain reacted with a spinning high kick to the head when the guardsman was still in the air. The guardsman was thrown away a few meters to the side. He was also knocked flat on the ground.


    A dent on his kettle helmet put a bit hesitation towards the rest of the guardsmen.


    ¡°S-surround him!¡± said the guardsman.


    The guardsmen took a wider formation to surround Cain.


    ¡°Are you sure we¡¯re going to do this?¡± asked one of the guardsmen to his ranks.


    ¡°We are! Can¡¯t you see we¡¯re just one step away from a huge bag of coi-¡±


    A kick in the face stopped him from further yelling. It was Cain¡¯s kick.


    ¡°(Better wrap this up quick, and I¡¯m curious about this wolf,)¡± thought Cain.


    Cain grabbed one of the guardsmen¡¯s hand and threw him to the startled guardsmen. Then he took the axe from the ground and knocked more guardsmen with its haft and knob.


    ¡°... You guys are pretty weak for a town¡¯s guards,¡± Cain frowned as he helped them ¡®rest¡¯ on the ground.


    Two guardsmen just watched their friends getting knocked down one by one.


    ¡°Sh-shit! A bag of coins ain¡¯t cut for a hit like that! I¡¯m outta here!¡± one of the guardsmen said, running at full speed from there.


    ¡°Me too!¡± said another guardsman


    ¡°... And cowards too.¡± said Cain as he watched the guardsman leaving the area, ¡°now, let¡¯s see¡­¡±


    Cain turned around, looking at the wolf. The wolf was licking its wounds. But when Cain walked towards it, it stood up and started growling at Cain.


    ¡°Easy, I¡¯m not gonna hurt you,¡± said Cain, he walked slower this time.


    He uncovered his face and kneeled on one foot to get a closer look at the wolf¡¯s wounds.


    But the wolf did not let its guard down to its savior. When Cain tried to touch it, the wolf ran away, to the forest direction.


    ¡°Well, so much for my curiosity¡­ I guess it¡¯s fine if it can run like that at least.¡±


    After that, Cain also left the scene, he did not want to be there any longer among the unconscious guardsmen. After he took his stuff, he and Beil entered the town.


    When he passed the town¡¯s gate, he could see the two guardsmen he met earlier were being yelled at by someone, looked like their superiors. Cain could hear faintly about ¡®leaving your post¡¯ or something. Cain just smiled lightly and kept walking.


    The town was lively, Cain saw many wagons on the side of the road with a load of goods. This town was a perfect place for a rest area before the merchants and traders crossing the border to Ezilai or vice versa.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ let¡¯s find a place for lunch, I¡¯m hungry,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    Cain found a tavern on the side of the road, he could see so many wagons parked there.


    ¡°Look at that, maybe that place has something good,¡± said Cain.


    When he came in, a scene of packed and crowded tavern made Cain a bit surprised. It was a big tavern with a lot of tables, which mostly occupied.


    ¡°Welcome to Sparrow¡¯s Nest! Come, come! We still have empty tables!¡± greeted a middle-aged woman with a tray on her hand.


    ¡°Corvey! Get this man a clean table!¡± shouted the woman to a girl.


    The girl came and smiled at Cain, then she took him to the nearest a table for two. Beil jumped to the table as Cain sat on the chair.


    ¡°What do need? Our lunch menu? Drinks?¡± asked the girl.


    ¡°Food, perhaps your chef recommendation or something? And for him too,¡± said Cain while lightly pointing at Beil.


    ¡°Oh, sure,¡± she looked at Beil, ¡°umm¡­¡±


    ¡°... Go ahead if you want to pet him,¡± responded Cain.


    The girl looked happy as she petted Beil, then she smiled at Cain and went to deliver his order to the kitchen.


    Cain looked over the people there, from a group of silk-clothed gentlemen to a group of rough-looking young and old people. Also, there was a group of drunk old men in the corner.


    Cain smiled lightly as he watched the guests of Sparrow¡¯s Nest. He felt excited, far from the land he knew and being surrounded by strangers with high diversity was one of his favourite atmospheres besides being in the fairytale-like landscape or in a good fight with a challenging opponent.


    After a while, Cain¡¯s food came. A roasted spicy lime duck served to him, Beil also got some, but on a smaller plate.


    A delighted expression painted on Cain and Beil¡¯s face after they tasted the first bite. They cleaned the meat from the bones in no time.


    ¡°(Now I know why this place is so crowded! The food is so delicious!)¡± thought Cain.


    Cain asked Corvey about lodging in the town after that. She pointed him to the inn next to Sparrow¡¯s Nest. Cain took the rest of the day walking around the town after he booked a room.


    ¡­


    In the next morning, Cain left the town. To reach Ezilai, Cain had to go through Balrth, the border forest.


    On the main road of the forest, there were so many wagon convoys, accompanied by their bodyguards, consist of mercenaries or even Hunters. The main road in the forest was actually quite safe. Ezilai had half of the forest belong to them and it was the main access for traders between the two Kingdoms, so both Kingdom made an agreement to keep the road safe with some patrols from both sides. The merchants hired the bodyguards to repel beasts of the forest that did not hesitate to seek prey in the main road. Sometimes, wild beasts ventured the main road, far from their habitat, the deeper part of the forest. The deeper part of Balrth that Cain very interested into.


    ¡°This forest has nice fresh air!¡± said Cain. He and Beil were walking in the deeper part of the forest.


    Cain observed the trees and beasts that roamed the forest. He also took some herbs he knew had uses for Gomara¡¯s potions.


    Suddenly, a faint howl came to his ears. Beil also alerted upon the howl.


    ¡°A howl? Wolf? Usually they do that at night, don''t they?... Oh!? It could be the Clastival Wolf!¡±


    ¡°Meip?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Beil!¡±


    Cain decided to seek the howl¡¯s origin, they proceed further than the deeper part.


    The howl took them to an open area. There, the Calstival Wolf was sitting on a big stone in the center of the area.


    The wolf looked at Cain with its gentle eyes, quite different when they first met. Somehow, the wolf gave a different aura, it had a calm aura that gave a serenity to whoever looked at it.


    Cain looked at the folded hinder leg of the wolf, it had a scar, matched yesterday¡¯s event.


    Cain walked to it, but a raspy voice stopped him from going further.


    ¡°Stop right there, human.¡±


    The voice came from a figure on a big tree. But the lushness of the leaves covered the voice owner in the shade. Only a fully pulled bow with an arrow that gripped with a furry hand was seen because it was outside the shade and aimed at Cain.

 Chapter 38 - Extinct

    Cain frowned, he was trying to get a good look at the figure on the tree. The figure had a pair of clean green eyes, with a little yellow in the inner iris. All Cain could see the figure was kneeling on the big branch. But still couldn''t make the sense of it.


    ¡°What are you?¡± asked Cain.


    The mysterious figure responded with nothing, nor his grip on the arrow, which was still firmly pulled.


    The wolf shifted its gaze towards the figure, then, a sigh could be heard. The bow was lowered, and with a swift movement, the mysterious figure jumped down from the tree.


    ¡°A Jaguar?... Standing with two legs?... Whoa¡­¡± Cain was in awe after he saw the creature in front of him.


    What was standing in front of Cain was indeed a jaguar-alike, standing with two bipedal legs, featuring close to human body proportion but with taller and broader muscular shoulder. The golden-colored fur that featured rosette patterns covered its body. And the head of a jaguar with two scars on its mouth. It wore a brown cloth and old leather armor on its lower body.


    ¡°Hmph, close, human,¡± said the jaguar, ¡°my name¡¯s Rugo, and I am a Jagupard.¡±


    ¡°Holy¡­ he¡¯s really talking¡­¡±


    ¡°Meip¡­¡±


    ¡°First time seeing a moasrahn, huh?¡± Rugo scoffed.


    ¡°Moasrahn¡­ wait!? Moasrahn!! The extinct race!?¡± Cain couldn''t believe what he just heard.


    ¡°Extinct, huh? Is that how human think about us? Heh, no matter,¡± said Rugo.


    Moasrahn was one of the major races in Nazula in the past. They were the race of beast with similar figure to human with no less intelligence. Making them superior than human race as they had stronger physical built and slightly longer lifespan than Hodu tribe. But they had insatiable thirst for power and domination by nature, though only among themselves because they did not really care about other races. Their thirst for power became their ultimate fall in the end. A civil war took place among moasrahns across Nazula, moasrahns in Valvikr continent was the worst.


    Finally, when their population became the lowest to the point the weakest human kingdom could finish them off, the leaders made a peace agreement and no more moasrahn¡¯s blood should be spilled by another moasrahn to preserve their race. They also decided to live in seclusion, far from civilization such as in the forest and cut themselves off from other races. After 300 years of rare sighting, most humans in Valfikr thought they were extinct, except the local residence near the forest they lived in. But even the human there could not really investigate moasrahn there as they rarely saw them.


    ¡°Oh Goddess¡­ a moasrahn!¡± said Cain excitedly.


    ¡°So, human, I revealed myself to you to thank you for saving him,¡± Rugo ignored Cain¡¯s excitement, he looked at the Clastival Wolf.


    ¡°Ah, this wolf is yours?¡± responded Cain. His attention shifted towards the wolf.


    ¡°Mine? No, Hoarts belongs to us all, moasrahn,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°So the wolf¡¯s name is Hoarts¡­¡± said Cain.


    The wolf growled at Rugo.


    ¡°As you wish,¡± Rugo slightly bowed his head to the wolf.


    ¡°What?¡± Cain looked confused.


    ¡°Come, uh¡­ what¡¯s your name, human?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m Cain, and this is Beil.¡±


    ¡°Meip! Memeeip!¡±


    ¡°Huh, is he?¡± Rugo asked Beil


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°... You can talk to Beil??¡± Cain was puzzled.


    ¡°Of course I can,¡± Rugo replied, ¡°come to our village, we want to thank you properly since your first step in the forest. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°A moasrahn village? Heck yeah!¡±


    Rugo nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Rugo guided them to the said village.


    Smile adorned Cain¡¯s face, he couldn''t hide his excitement along the way.


    ¡°Thank goddess I decided to follow the howl, otherwise I won''t have this chance!¡± said Cain. He walked behind Rugo and Hoarts.


    ¡°Hoarts already knew when you stepped into the forest. When he sensed you¡¯re close, he howled. Thankfully you came,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Ooh¡­ nice ability,¡± responded Cain, ¡°by the way, what¡¯s a Kralv? Hoarts is a Kralv, right?¡±


    ¡°How do you know that word!?¡± Rugo suddenly stopped and turned around. He was aghast.


    ¡°I know from a book, why do you look so surprised?¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s an ancient word of ours, supposedly only our kind knows about it,¡± said Rugo.


    Hoarts looked at Rugo.


    ¡°Hrrh, fine¡­¡± Rugo sighed, ¡°Hoarts permitted me to talk about it with you.¡±


    Rugo breathed a long breath, he started walking again. ¡°Kralv means Heart of the Forest, and Hoarts is the Kralv of this Barlth Forest. You humans probably more familiar with alpha of a horde term. But Kralv, is more than that, he is respected by every living being in the forest. Moasrahn is no exception. We even consider him sacred.¡°


    ¡°I see... but why? I mean, when I saved him yesterday, he was clearly had no fighting capabilities. Isn''t that the opposite idea of alpha of a horde whereas the alpha is the strongest one? He¡¯s respected despite how weak he is, well, no offense, Hoarts,¡± said Cain.


    The Clastival Wolf just growled a bit, he seemed undisturbed by Cain¡¯s remark.


    ¡°You don¡¯t get the meaning Heart of the Forest, huh? What happens if your heart stops beating?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m gonna die¡­¡± Cain paused for a moment, ¡°oh¡­ oh!!! You mean, if Hoarts dies, the forest is gonna die too!?¡±


    Rugo nodded in answer. ¡°He is the life of the forest, he has the highest responsibility in the forest, that¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°(That¡¯s the reason why Gomara wrote that!... Gomara should had fair share of adventure too if he knew about it,)¡± thought Cain. ¡°What happens if this forest dies?¡± asked he.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ it matters a lot to us, we could always find another forest to live in, yes. But we¡¯ve been here for hundreds of years, we call it home. For sentimental reason, of course we don''t want to lose the forest. As for the animals and plants? they¡¯ll lose their habitat, and I¡¯m sure humans can''t live without them. Maybe even dangerous beasts would raid that town when the forest no longer provides their needs,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°I see,¡± Cain rubbed his chin, ¡°(It¡¯s a good thing I saved the wolf, whatever the reason the guardsmen want the money for, I¡¯m sure losing the forest isn''t worth whatever the coin could give them,)¡±


    ¡°Then why he was outside the forest yesterday? Wasn''t that dangerous for a heart?¡±


    ¡°It was¡­ my blunder as the guardian of Kralv, I thank you once again, Cain. But yeah, I¡¯m still wondering why Hoarts stepped out from the forest like that, never happened before.¡±


    ¡°(Guardian, huh? So he is like Hoarts¡¯s bodyguard,)¡± thought Cain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him then? As far as I can tell, you can talk with animal and beast, right?¡± asked he.


    ¡°I did, Hoarts remembers nothing except being cornered by some humans and saved by you,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Weird¡­¡± said Cain.


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived,¡± said Rugo.


    They arrived at a different looking forest. It had taller trees, on the tall trees, wooden houses was built, varied in size. Wooden stairs and path on the branches made them connected one another. Sun rays from leaves gap made the perfection to the scene.


    ¡°Whoa¡­ this is cool,¡± said Cain, he was looking over the trees.


    Two moasrahn deer appeared from behind the tree. They were well equipped with leather armor and spears. They bowed their heads to Hoarts then nodded at Rugo.


    ¡°Standing deer¡­¡± mumbled Cain. Their large antlers became Cain¡¯s focus.


    Rugo spoke to the deer with foreign tongue. Then, both deer also bowed at Cain and stepped aside to give them a path.


    ¡°Come,¡± said Rugo.


    They entered the village, many moasrahns started looking at what the guardian of Kralv brought along to the village. They spoke among themselves with the tongue Cain couldn''t understand.


    ¡°I take their attention so fast,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You¡¯re the first human that came into contact with our village,¡± said Rugo.


    They used a large flat stairway to climb the tree. When Cain looked down, he could see another compound of wooden buildings on the other side of the ground, he could see more moasrahn race variety, like rhinos and warthogs.


    They arrived at a large tree house, with two moasrahn lynx stood guard at the door. When they saw Rugo, they immediately opened the door for them.


    Inside the house, a wide hall presented to them. There were four figures sitting cross-legged there.


    The hall was well lit, it has a lot of decoration and paintings on the wall. There were also varied weapons stored on the rack in each corner, from the shape alone, Cain could tell the craftsmanship was very different from human¡¯s.


    The sitting moasrahns were in the center of the room, a tiger, a bear, an alligator and a moose. They were big, Cain guessed they were about 8 feet tall if they stood up.


    The moose waved his huge hand to Rugo, inviting them to sit. Hoarts walked ahead of them and sat near the four.


    Rugo and Cain sat cross-legged in front of them, they sat on a large comfy hay-stuffed soft pillow, Beil sat on Cain¡¯s legs. Cain¡¯s awe to moasrahn became more controlled, but everyone in the room still could see his curious eyes stealing glance to whatever he found interesting, from the weapons, the tiger¡¯s glimmering red eyes, and the moose''s diamond antlers.

 Chapter 39 - Moasrahn Village

    ¡°Welcome to our village, human,¡± said the moose, ¡°I am Koghr, that¡¯s Bilvrast with the stripes, Fizol is the one with the long mouth, and the fat one is Geam. We are the moasrahn elders of Balrth Forest.¡±


    Rugo just shook his head because of the elder¡¯s introduction.


    ¡°What a way to introduce yourselves! My name¡¯s Cain!¡± said Cain enthusiastically.


    ¡°Now, just be quick,¡± said Fizol, the alligator moasrahn, ¡°we want to thank you for saving Hoarts.¡±


    ¡°Please, Fizol, don''t be so hasty. He is the first human ever to visit our village after all,¡± said Bilvrast, the tiger moasrahn, ¡°that being said, we owe you one, Cain, for saving Hoarts.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, please tell me what kind of rewards do you want?¡± asked Koghr.


    All elder¡¯s eyes were on him.


    ¡°Uuuhh¡­¡± Cain was baffled.


    ¡°Elders, please,¡± said Rugo.


    Koghr laughed heavily. ¡°Well, it¡¯s been hundreds of years since our contacts with humans, I kinda miss the sight of our neighbor,¡± he said.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ indeed, it has been that long, huh?¡± responded Bilvrast.


    A moasrahn giraffe came to them with food, the ceiling was tall enough for his head


    ¡°So, tell me, Cain, are you from Trako? How is the outside world right now?¡± asked Bilvrast.


    The giraffe served a lot of plates in front of them, meat, veggies, and fruits, he also poured a red liquid to clay mugs for everyone.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m a wandering Hunter, I was on my way to Trako when I saw Hoarts,¡± said Cain. ¡°Hmm, about outside world? Ah¡­ we thought you were extinct. Well, still, except me probably.¡±


    Bilvrast laughed so hard, he looked so amused


    ¡°We are extinct...¡± said Fizol, he had a blank stare at Cain.


    ¡°If only that thinking would make every races in Nazula forget our stupidity in the past, I certainly don''t mind if they think we are extinct,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°Sorry? Your stupidity in the past?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Uh-huh, the war that drove us to live in seclusion, stupid war, really really stupid war. We became a laughing stock as our population dropped, even the youngsters were forced to take up arms,¡± responded Koghr.


    Geam, the bear moasrahn, pushed the plate of fruits towards Cain, Cain nodded at Geam while taking some berries for himself and Beil.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough for our history. Now, what do you want for the reward, Cain?¡± Fizol seemed uncomfortable when Koghr talked about their history to Cain.


    ¡°He¡¯s been eyeing the weapons on the rack,¡± said Geam, finally spoke, now Cain was sure Geam was a female.


    ¡°Ooh? Those high grade weapons? Fine by me if you want one of those,¡± Koghr looked at Cain.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ if you insist,¡± said Cain while smiling. ¡°(This is a good chance to know about moasrahn weapons, besides, he said those weapons are high grade! Hopefully it could withstand Gomara¡¯s technique!)¡± thought he.


    ¡°Which one do you like?¡± asked Bilvrast.


    ¡°Can I look at them from up close?¡±


    ¡°Sure, feel free, for the savior of our Kralv, you are our honorable guest,¡± responded Koghr.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Cain stood up and walked closer to one of the weapon racks. Beil walked to Fizol and sat beside him. Fizol took a glance at Beil, then he sighed.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ by any chance, do you know about Kralv, Cain? You seem don''t care about that.¡± asked Bilvrast.


    ¡°Ah, yeah, I know from Rugo,¡± said Cain as he inspected the weapons.


    The elders shifted their gazes towards Rugo, they looked surprised.


    ¡°Hoarts gave me an ok,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°I see, if the Heart of the Forest is ok with him, I have no objection,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°No objection,¡± said Bilvrast.


    ¡°Neither from me,¡± said Fizol, he was petting Beil.


    Geam just nodded.


    ¡°(It seems Kralv word is a secret word from what I understand, I¡¯ll just ask Rugo later for more details,)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll take this,¡± said Cain as he took a sheathless one-edged sword from the rack. The sword was half a meter long, the blade surface wasn''t flat but wavy with embossed three lines from the hilt to the tip. Scratches on the blade made it looked like it had been through countless battles.


    ¡°Varestaz, huh? Good choice,¡± said Bilvrast.


    ¡°This sword¡¯s name is Varestaz?¡± asked Cain. When he held Varestaz upwards, it felt heavy as if it was ready to split the earth apart from above, but when he held it downwards, it was as light as a feather, ready to tear the sky from below. Then he felt the weight was normal for a steel sword when he held it horizontally. ¡°(Neat!)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°Yeah, it means Horizon Splitter. Too bad for Argen, he¡¯s also been eyeing that weapon,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°Oh? Then I¡¯ll pick another weapon if someone is after this sword,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, The one who wanted that probably will let you have it in exchange of


    Hoarts¡¯s life,¡± said Bilvrast.


    ¡°Okay¡­ cool,¡± responded Cain.


    Then, a moasrahn entered the house. He resembled Rugo, but he was a bit smaller.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Greetings, elders, brother,¡± the moasrahn bowed.


    ¡°Ah, Argen,¡± said Rogeau.


    ¡°We¡¯ve just talked about you,¡± said Geam with voice only herself could hear.


    ¡°I was told by the sentries you brought a human to our village, brother,¡± said the moasrahn called Argen to Rugo.


    ¡°Yes, there he is,¡± responded Rugo. He pointed at Cain that walking to them with Varestaz on his hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s! Why is that human holding the Varestaz!?¡± Argen seemed displeased with a growling expression on his face. He even readied his left hand on the sword on his hip and pulled out sharp claws from his right hand fingers.


    ¡°Calm down, Argen,¡± said Koghr, ¡°that¡¯s a reward for saving Hoarts¡¯s life.¡±


    ¡°A reward!? But! That¡¯s our father¡¯s sword! Brother! How can you agree to this!?¡± said Argen.


    ¡°Chill, brother, for our Kralv¡¯s life? I would give father¡¯s sword anytime,¡± Rugo replied.


    ¡°Keh!!¡± Argen held out his anger, then he exhaled a breath, he seemed calmer after the second breath, then he retracted his claws and posture.


    ¡°I heard what happened to Hoarts, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, Hoarts,¡± said Argen to Hoarts, then he looked at Cain, ¡°and you, forgive me for my rudeness, I am Argen, Rugo¡¯s little brother.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Cain, if this sword belongs to your family, then I¡¯ll choose another weapon,¡± said Cain, he held out Varestaz to Argen.


    ¡°Keep it, human,¡± said Fizol, ¡°you have acquired that sword with your own deed, giving that back because of sentimentality or pity is taboo for moasrahn.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also an insult, Cain,¡± Geam added.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ okay¡­¡± Cain retracted his hand and shrugged at Argen.


    ¡°Is there anything else you want, Cain?¡± asked Koghr.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I should asking for more, meeting a declared extinct race is already a whole new kind of a reward for me,¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Extinct?¡± mumbled Argen.


    Koghr nodded with a little smile. ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to evaluate the incident, please sit again, Cain. You too, Argen.¡±


    Cain nodded and sat, he put down the Horizon Splitter next to him. Argen sat beside Rugo.


    The faces of the elders became serious. Fizol was no longer petting Beil.


    ¡°We know nothing about how Hoarts left the forest and came close to human town, still, this is a blunder,¡± Koghr looked at Rugo with a sharp gaze.


    ¡°Forgive me, Elder Koghr, I was busy with suddenly-aggressive beasts in the northern Balrth,¡± Rugo lowered his head.


    Cain could feel a pressure from Koghr¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Of all people, you, Kralv¡¯s guardian failed to keep an eye on him,¡± said Bilvrast, he too gazed with a heavy pressure at Rugo.


    Rugo couldn¡¯t reply Bilvrast¡¯s words because he realized it was really his fault.


    ¡°Hmmh¡­ if we were in the past, you¡¯d be dead already, Rugo. Be thankful you¡¯re born after the great war,¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°Because the post-war rules, you¡¯ll not be executed for your error. Even after hundreds of years, we are still few in numbers, killing you would be a waste,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°So, we elders have decided that you shall find another forest to live in, Rugo,¡± Bilvrast closed his eyes.


    The room fell silent for a moment.


    ¡°Wha-! Find another forest!? No! I shouldn''t leave Balrth! I¡¯m the guardian of Balrth¡¯s Kralv!¡± Rugo broke the silence.


    ¡°And yet you just failed at your so called guardian duty,¡± sneered Fizol.


    ¡°Although we will lost a precious manpower, but you know we have strict rules about blunder, that blunder could cost us the forest,¡± said Koghr


    ¡°(Banishment, huh? I know that very well,)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°Hrrr!? Then, who¡¯s gonna protect Hoarts!?¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°We also have agreed to this matter,¡± said Koghr, he looked at Argen, ¡°your brother, he will be the new guardian of Balrth¡¯s Kralv.¡±


    Rugo looked at the baffled Argen, then he sighed a long breath. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s my brother, I have nothing to worry then,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Wait! Wait! My brother is no longer a part of Balrth Moasrahn!?¡± gasped Argen.


    "That¡¯s how it is, Argen. Or would you rather follow the law of old? Execute him?¡± responded Fizol.


    ¡°No! That¡¯s-!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, Argen,¡± said Rugo, ¡°besides, you always want to be the guardian, right?¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°...Y-yeah¡­ but-¡±


    ¡°You have what it takes to become the guardian, you are among the strongest of Balrth Moasrahn, be proud of it,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Indeed, your brother is qualified to be the guardian from our perspective,¡± said Koghr to Rugo.


    Rugo nodded in response.


    ¡°You are allowed to stay until tomorrow, Rugo,¡± said Koghr, ¡°and so are you, Cain. Forgive us you can¡¯t stay longer than tomorrow. Except the survivors of the war and few more, most of moasrahns here haven''t seen anything outside of the forest, surely you understand your appearance alone is rising up the curiosity of our youngsters,¡± he looked at Cain.


    ¡°... No, I don''t understand, is that bad being curious about something for your people?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing, but they are young and we are still not ready to show ourselves again to the world, I don¡¯t want our youngsters to have stupid idea of going outside without permission, and when they see human, I believe their instinct to dominate is going to rise up,¡± Koghr replied.


    ¡°But I thought moasrahn doesn''t care about other races?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s when we¡¯re prosperous, our food was served with golden plates, our kingdoms were rich with treasury and so on, we gave human little thoughts. But it¡¯s totally different now. If the humans unite and decide to eradicate us, we¡¯ll be done in the first day. Fortunately, we never have bad blood with humans in the past, maybe your kind still remembers the day when we never touch your race even though we could,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°More likely because they think we are extinct, like Cain said,¡± Bilvrast laughed.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Why moasrahn in the past did not care about other races even though they were hungry for power by nature?¡± another question by Cain¡¯s curiosity.


    ¡°I do not know the details, but from my knowledge,¡± Bilvrast rubbed his chin, ¡°there was a pact between moasrahn and other races in the ancient age. I don''t really know about it, but the result of that pact forbids us to invade other races, moreover it encourages us to get along with other races, but we just keep busy with ourselves. Then with the post-war new rules, forget about invading, we shouldn''t even get close to humans.¡±


    ¡°What about the youngsters, their instinct to dominate is going to rise up when they see human? Didn''t you just say the pact forbids moasrahn to invade other races?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t expect every moasrahn will always think about the pact can you? Sometimes, curiosity beat ¡®em all, isn''t human also like that?¡± Koghr smiled a bit.


    ¡°Then, why you decided to live in seclusion? Wouldn''t it be better to live along with humans, we might help you to rebuild.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we did not care about other races,¡± said Koghr, ¡°but that doesn''t mean we weren''t watching you. Your kind of all other races is a cruel one, you enslaved your own people in the past, probably still by now. What do you think if a weak race comes to your prosperous Kingdoms and asks to help them to rebuild? Your people would enslave my people obviously, and I knew humans also have battle slaves kind of a thing. I bet we will be a glorious entertainment to watch,¡± Koghr laughed a bit.


    ¡°Or use us as their soldiers for their wars, humans also love to wage war, right?¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°In the past yeah probably, but now, only few Kingdoms left have slave system, it¡¯s kinda peaceful time now,¡± Cain rubbed his chin. ¡°Then, how about your kind in other continent?¡±


    ¡°Same as here, though I heard after the great war, human in the west continent eradicated our kind to take our land, don''t know if it¡¯s true as we rarely receive news from across the ocean,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Cain nodded at Koghr.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for us to share our history to an outsider,¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Koghr shrugged.


    ¡°Give him an empty house to stay the night, Rugo, he is your responsibility, as you are the one who brought him here,¡± said Bilvrast.


    ¡°Yes, Elder Bilvrast.¡±


    ¡°You can go, except Argen, we need to discuss about his upcoming responsibility,¡± said Koghr.


    Argen nodded in response.


    ¡°Oh yeah, Cain, you can go walking around the village, don''t mind what Koghr said about our youngsters, I don¡¯t want the first human who comes into our village thinks moasrahns aren''t hospitable,¡± said Bilvrast with a little smile.


    Koghr just chuckled.


    With that, Rugo and Cain left the house. Rugo assigned Cain at a small house in the corner of the village and told him to enjoy the village while he could.

 Chapter 40 - The Agent For Future

    After he left the sword in the house, Cain and Beil spent the noon walking around the village. He tried to talk to the moasrahns that curiously watching every movement of him. Unfortunately, they couldn''t speak Vikr tongue. Also, wherever Cain went, some sharp gazes followed, hiding on the trees. The hidden gazes that kept eyeing and following him while keeping their distance. But Cain just walking casually, he just thought maybe they were the sentries tasked to keep an eye on him.


    When he found a market, he was greeted by the merchants there after the aghast expression of the merchants faded. Also, some of them could speak Vikr tongue a little. Cain¡¯s eye caught a red crystal claw necklace on one of the merchant¡¯s goods, it sparkled beautifully when a glimpse of sunlight from the leaves gap kissed the crystal.


    The turtle moasrahn, one of the merchants, realized Cain¡¯s interest, he asked if Cain wanted to buy it and told him about how expensive the necklace was as it was a rare thing, but when Cain showed him a couple of the diamonds, the turtle surprised that Cain also had a rare goods, he happily parted with the necklace in exchange for a couple of the diamonds.


    The crystal claw was small, no larger than Cain¡¯s thumb, when he asked about its origin, the turtle said it was from a Moonblind Honey Badger, an exotic rare beast that no longer walked the land since hundreds years ago. Cain¡¯s eyes lit up as he knew the beast from the Book, he was grateful to have the remnant of the extinct honey badger that had crystal-bound bones.


    Cain¡¯s diamonds made other merchants also offered their goods with high enthusiasm. After an hour, Cain finally left the market with a necklace, a high quality leather coat folded at his left hand, a sword sheath with straps, and a small bright yellow bandana with leaf patterns tied at Beil¡¯s neck. ¡°So he won''t be mistaken as a wild animal,¡± said the rabbit merchant.


    When the evening came, Rugo invited him to join the bonfire feast. Of course Cain never had any second thought about declining.


    The village at night was also stunning, rather than using lumines crystal or fire as their light source, they used Heldelicht Fireflies. They were bigger than normal fireflies, and the light they produced almost rivaled lumines crystal. The fireflies weren''t locked up in some container, but the moasrahn just let them flew everywhere around the village, in case of emergency, the fireflies could just fly away to hid the village in the darkness, this was thanks to moasrahn¡¯s animal tongue ability.


    The bonfire was huge, it was burning in the open area. The area was crowded with moasrahns, Rugo took Cain to where the elders sat. Koghr and Bilvrast greeted Cain when they saw him, Geam was busy talking with other moasrahns, and Fizol was playing with moasrahn kids. The face Fizol made when he was around the kids was totally different when he talked to him earlier, he was more approachable. Cain couldn''t help smiled lightly looking at Fizol.


    The feast began after the elders announced the new guardian for Hoarts. The public gave Argen great applause, the guardian job wasn''t easy, but the higher the responsible was, the more respect he got from the public.


    Even though Rugo just lost that honorable position, he couldn''t help but smile, after all, he believed his brother would do better than him.


    ¡°How are you doing?¡± Cain asked Rugo. They were watching Argen that got all the attention. Beil was sleeping on Cain¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Huh? Me? I¡¯m good, I guess,¡± Rugo paused for a moment. ¡°Ahh¡­ I never thought I¡¯ll leave this forest,¡± he said.


    ¡°You never go out from this forest?¡±


    ¡°Never, besides our rules to live in seclusion, my duty kept me busy," said Rugo in answer.


    ¡°But now, you¡¯re banished, where will you go?¡±


    ¡°Heh, other forest? Rugo chuckled, ¡°just like what the elders told me about finding another forest to live in. I heard there is a moasrahn settlement in the forest near Nerezorth Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean exactly?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Another forest?¡±


    ¡°Another forest? Literally find another forest as in find another settlement of moasrahn to live there.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see¡­ though, isn''t that boring? You know, you just jump from a forest to another,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°We have our rules.¡±


    ¡°True, but, can''t you just go wherever you want?¡±


    Rugo sighed. ¡°Yeah, I actually want to explore the life outside the forest,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a good time to do that, then,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Adventurer¡¯s life, huh? Tempting, but rules are rules, I must avoid contact with other races as much as possible,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°I see, quite straight to the rules type, aren''t you?¡± sneered Cain.


    Rugo just laughed. ¡°What makes you wander around, if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°First, it¡¯s my dream to see everything the world has to offer with my own eyes, second, I¡¯m also banished like you,¡± he spoke in a low voice at the second reason.


    ¡°Dream, eh? Nice,¡± said Rugo. ¡°By the way, you should not whisper around moasrahns, we have stronger hearing sense than you humans, well, ¡®stronger¡¯ doesn''t do justice, super is the word.¡±


    ¡°Oh, snap! Seriously!?¡±


    ¡°Nah, not really, their attention is too focused on Argen right now, but our moasrahn warriors most likely heard that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful next time!¡±


    ¡­


    In the morning, Cain was invited to the house of elders before leaving the village. Cain wore the leather coat he bought, with Varestaz hung on his hip, partially hidden beneath the coat.


    In the house, Rugo was standing in front of the elders, he did not bring much, only a crossbow, and two curved long knives on his hips.


    The four elders sat in front of him. Argen stood behind them, Hoarts also sat near them. Bilvrast invited Cain to step forward with Rugo, then he cleared his throat.


    ¡°Well then, you are free to go, Rugo, son of Gias, may our ancestor spirits bless you on your journey to find another forest,¡± said Bilvrast.


    Rugo kneeled with eyes closed. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, Elders, thank you for your wisdom of mercy,¡± said he.


    Hoarts got up and walked towards Rugo, he rubbed his head at Rugo¡¯s face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too, Hoarts,¡± Rugo hugged Hoarts for a moment, then he stood up straight.


    Even though Cain could see him smiling, he knew at heart Rugo was reluctant to leave his home, like how he felt when Aunt Germi hugged and saw him off at Aroum.


    Hoarts also walked towards Cain. Cain kneeled on one leg and stroked the Clastival Wolf¡¯s head. Beil jumped at Hoarts leg and rubbed his head at the wolf¡¯s leg, Hoarts licked Beil¡¯s head in response.


    ¡°Tell me, Cain, what are you going to do with your knowledge about this moasrahn village?¡± asked Koghr.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cain stood up and shrugged, ¡°nothing I guess, you like your privacy I see, I have no reason to disturb this peaceful village,¡± said Cain in answer.


    Koghr nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Thank you, Cain, I pray for your safety, and may you be given strength by your Goddess to endure the hardships should you cross them on your path.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, elder, though I may trouble you now with what I¡¯m about to ask,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Hoo? Ask away, this should be good,¡± Bilvrast intrigued by Cain¡¯s words.


    ¡°Okay, I know your people strictly live with the rules, new or old. So can you make an exception this time? Could you release Rugo from the rule that forced him to live in seclusion? Let him explore the world, interact with humans and the land you used to walk.¡±


    ¡°What!? What are talking about, Cain!?¡± Rugo was aghast.


    Bilvrast on the other hand burst into laughter.


    ¡°You really trouble us with that, Cain.¡± said Koghr while smiling.


    Fizol just stared at Cain, but he bounced his tail left and right without touching the floor.


    Geam just rubbed her chin, thinking.


    ¡°Oh boy, that¡¯s really amusing!¡± exclaimed Bilvrast. ¡°Now, what are going to do with our Kralv savior¡¯s request, elders?¡± Bilvast looked at the elders.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s worth to consider about it seriously,¡± said Geam.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s interesting,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°Wh-what do you mean!? Are you seriously considering Cain¡¯s request??¡± gasped Rugo.


    Argen couldn''t say anything, aside from Cain¡¯s request, and the fact the the elders were considering the rules for his brother made him jaw-dropped.


    ¡°I have an idea,¡± said Fizol. His tail was as calm as water in a pond now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it!¡± said Bilvrast.


    Everyone there had their attention at Fizol.


    ¡°Let¡¯s think it is as the first move for our reappearance to the world. You, Rugo, you can go anywhere you want, but in return, you will regularly write us about the outside world, how the condition and how advanced the technology and magic these days.¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°... You mean, you want Rugo as an agent for this so called moasrahn reappearance?¡± asked Bilvrast.


    ¡°Yes, if what Cain said is true that this is a peaceful time, maybe this is the best time for us to announce that we are not extinct yet,¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°I see, I think this is the time to finally heed the words of our ancestors, to get along nicely with other races,¡± said Bilvrast.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°I may have another input to support it,¡± said Geam, ¡°If you meet another moasrahn or even find another unknown moasrahn settlement, you must help them at your utmost ability, and tell about our settlement to them or theirs to us.¡±


    The elders looked at each other and slowly nodded one by one.


    ¡°Then it settled!¡± said Koghr. ¡°Rugo! We appoint you to become our agent of exploration as of now! But remember, your banishment remains in effect, you understand?¡±


    ¡°... Understood, Elder Koghr, and thank you, elders, for letting me explore the world,¡± said Koghr. He bowed his head.


    Cain glanced at Rugo, he had a better smile now.


    ¡°Thank you for granting my request,¡± said Cain with a smile.


    ¡°No problem, Cain. Your name will go down as a part of our history when we succeed to establish ourselves again in the society and live among your kind,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor, thank you,¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Now go both of you, and good luck!¡± said Bilvrast.


    After said his farewell to his baffled brother, Rugo and Cain finally stepped out from the village.


    ¡­


    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve become an agent of exploration, I¡¯m confused where to start,¡± said Rugo. They were walking in the forest, to the main road direction.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ You can always come with me,¡± said Cain, ¡°if you don''t mind a company of a human and an otter that is.¡±


    ¡°Traveling with you a human right off the bat? Sounds interesting!¡± exclaimed Rugo, but he suddenly stopped and alerted. ¡°Did you hear that?¡±


    Cain also stopped, then he tried to hear the sound Rugo mentioned. All he could hear was just birds chirping and leaves rustling by some breeze.


    ¡°Nothing, I didn''t hear anything,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°This way!¡± Rugo ran towards a direction.


    ¡°Uh-oh,¡± Cain picked Beil from the ground and started to run.


    After a ten minutes run, They stopped at a tree.


    ¡°What did you find?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Look at that,¡± said Rugo


    Cain looked at the direction Rugo pointed. But even without looking to the direction, Cain finally knew what it was from the vibration on the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s a beast horde,¡± said Cain, ¡°so this is the moasrahn¡¯s super hearing sense¡­ impressive, you can hear that sound from that far?¡± Cain continued.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s impressed, you did a ten minutes full run without gasping for air. What¡¯s more, moasrahn has a faster speed than human, and yet, you were consistently on my tail without losing a momentum, that¡¯s something for a human, right?¡± said Rugo while observing the beasts.


    ¡°You did some research on human, I see.¡±


    ¡°Information is also a weapon, born from a warrior family, I was taught to always have a step ahead, no matter how small it is,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Damn right. Now, what do we do about this horde beast?¡±


    ¡°Weird, I¡¯ve never seen those kind of beasts before¡­ Hmm¡­ I¡¯m sure they came from outside, we¡¯re just twenty minutes away from the last tree of Balrth after all,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Hey, look! A Clastival Wolf!¡± exclaimed Cain.


    ¡°What!? Oh, damn!¡±


    The beast horde was moving at a slow pace. Among the beasts, a Clastival Wolf walked elegantly, guarded by two Redtusk Warthogs. The horde was small, unlike the hordes Cain saw at Kuni Steppe, this horde size was less than half of the last beast horde he saw. That¡¯s why Cain only realized what it was when they were near, the vibration they produced on the ground when the beasts walking far smaller than the Horde Brawl produced.


    ¡°This is bad, that beast horde will clash with this forest beast horde!¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Wait, that Clastival is also a Kralv then?¡± asked Cain


    ¡°Not really, a Clastival Wolf is a Kralv, but not every forest has a Clastival Wolf as its Kralv, it could be any other beasts. But if there¡¯s a Clastival Wolf in the forest, then that wolf is the Kralv. But, in case there are two Clastival Wolves in one forest, the beasts under respective Clastival Wolf will fight to the death to make sure their leader is the one who¡¯ll have the forest. Now the next question is, how come there are two Clastival Wolves? They can only breed in a forest, and this one is absolutely came from outside the forest¡­ ah! Could it be!?¡±


    ¡°Twins,¡± said Cain. ¡°A Clastival Wolf can only mate with a normal forest wolf, then when the Clastival Wolf¡¯s cub is born, the Clastival parent will die, leaving its mate to take care the cub and passing its responsibility to its newborn cub. In rare cases where the newborn has a twin, one of them will be kicked out of the forest. If somehow the kicked one survives, it will look for a forest to live and mate, if it finds the forest that already have a Clastival Wolf, it will aggressively attack the Kralv,¡± he read the complete description of the Clastival Wolf from the Book of Gomara.


    ¡°That book has something like that??¡± Rugo took a look at the book on Cain¡¯s hand. But all he could see was an empty page, not even a single letter in it.


    ¡°What the heck are you reading??¡± Rugo was confused.


    ¡°Some of this book contents are only visible to me,¡± said Cain.


    That was another Book of Gomara¡¯s protective feature. All contents except techniques and magic were actually invisible to other than Cain, the one who unlocked the first hidden page of the book. All information about rare beasts, potion making or world knowledge wouldn''t disappear even after Cain memorized it unlike the techniques and magic pages that disappeared after Cain mastered it. So Cain could reread it in case he forgot, but there was also a catch, Cain couldn''t make a copy of the those contents of the book to share it with others. He tried to write a page about a rare beast at another book, but that rare beast content in the Book of Gomara suddenly disappeared, when he tried to make another copy from the first one, the words on the first copy also immediately disappeared, Cain realized he couldn¡¯t duplicate anything from the Book, but it still worked verbally, though it still disappeared when Lexa and Higa tried to write what Cain told them from the book. Knowing it worked only with verbal, Cain became lazy to share it because he had to talk so much, so he just told them when the time was right to relate the knowledge.


    ¡°A magical book, huh? Interesting as it has the knowledge from my kind. You can''t read our language, right? That means it¡¯s in Vikr tongue, what a weird book, moasrahns never write their knowledge in a foreign tongue,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Yeah, It belonged to an ancient mysterious hero called Gomara.¡±


    ¡°Gomara? I¡¯ve heard that name before, but we should talk later, I have to do something about this beast horde,¡± said Rugo


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna do my last duty as the guardian of Barlth¡¯s Kralv; eliminate the threat pointed at Hoarts,¡± said Rugo as he unsheathed the inwardly curved knife with his right hand and the barreled crossbow on his left hand.


    ¡°Alright, let me lend you a hand,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You shouldn''t, this is my duty.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the guardian anymore, besides, I¡¯ve been wanting to try your father¡¯s sword!¡± Cain unsheathed Varestaz.


    ¡°Huh, suit yourself, human, my father sword will serve you well,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that! Stay where you are, Beil,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    Cain and Rugo walked casually to the beast horde with weapons in hands, just with their presence alone, they successfully took the horde''s attention.

 Chapter 41 - The Beast

    The beasts were cautiously watching Cain and Rugo, the beasts around the Clastival Wolf had also tightened their formation to protect their leader.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the biggest ones, you have no problem, right?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s better for me to handle the biggest ones, and you have smaller weapons,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°The biggest ones are too many for you,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°No problem, I can handle them!¡± exclaimed Cain.


    ¡°I¡¯m taller than you, so it¡¯s just the right logic for me to fight them,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°To test your father¡¯s sword, I need them for easy targets.¡±


    While they bickering, a Stone-shouldered Ogre pulled out a big tree from the ground and threw it at them.


    Cain reacted with a slash, cut the tree in two, from the gap between the slashed tree, Rugo shot a yellow bolt from his crossbow, blasted the ogre¡¯s head. The ogre headlessly tumbled on the ground.


    ¡°Oh, the blade is sharp,¡± Cain looked at Varestaz, ¡°well, I think we¡¯ll just rumble it on,¡± said he.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Rugo replied.


    Cain and Rugo dashed towards the horde. With a howl, the beasts also charged towards them.


    Rugo pulled the crossbow trigger, rapid-firing at the horde from right to left, some of the beasts took the bolts head on, when the crossbow barrel stopped rolling, dozens became corpses already.


    Cain slashed the beasts here and there, but his movement was clunky, due to Varestaz¡¯s specialty.


    ¡°What a weird dance you have there, human! Hahah!¡± shouted Rugo.


    ¡°This is a dance before a perfection!¡± exclaimed Cain.


    Rugo tapped the lower part of his crossbow, the bolt barrel jumped out from the crossbow with the tap. The empty barrel was pulled to Rugo¡¯s belt. Then he took another barrel and reload the crossbow.


    ¡°What was that!?¡± Cain glanced at Rugo while ¡®dancing¡¯.


    ¡°The barrel? It¡¯s using magnetic metal field when it¡¯s out of my crossbow!¡±


    ¡°Interesting! Moasrahn¡¯s tech?¡± shouted Cain.


    ¡°Lost moasrahn¡¯s tech!¡± said Rugo.


    More beasts came to them, even though Cain still had not used to Varestaz, he handled the beast with ease.


    Rugo put back his crossbow on his back and took his another knife. With a curved knife in each hand, he dashed with incredible speed, slashing the beasts with no mercy. He threw one of the knives straight into Giantclaw Bear¡¯s head, then when he flicked his wrist, the knife flew back to his hand.


    ¡°(I¡¯ve never seen such a fighting style! And those knives!)¡± thought Cain. ¡°What are those knives?¡± he asked.


    ¡°These? These are called khukris!¡± shouted Rugo.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you don''t want your father¡¯s sword like your brother?¡± Cain ducked an attack from a Ringtail Lizard.


    ¡°I prefer khukris, bows and alike, not a fan of generic sword-wielding warrior!¡± Rugo stabbed a Steelnose Baboon in the chest and tore it apart.


    ¡°You don''t like your father?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, just looking at my father swinging his sword was boring compared to my mother¡¯s khukri style!¡±


    ¡°Heh, I see!¡±


    After Cain parried and countered a charge from a Hazelshell Hercules Beetle, he took a low stance. With an arc swing, he used Wind Guillotine. Not just once but after the first swing, he connected the swing with other two Wind Guillotines.


    Three Wind Guillotines cut not just the beast horde, but also the trees.


    ¡°Oh, crap!¡± said Cain as he watched the shredded trees fell down with splattering blood all over the area. Then he looked at Varestaz. It was still in good shape even though Cain just used Gomara¡¯s techniques simultaneously, no sign of cracking at the blade.


    Seeing Cain¡¯s technique that easily cut through the trees and the beasts, Rugo smiled excitedly. ¡°Not bad! But leave the trees alone!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± responded Cain.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Rugo blitzing through the horde by bouncing from a tree trunk to another, he slashed the beasts on his path with exceptional agility and precision. His technique was less messy but the corpses he left behind proved Rugo¡¯s ability was not to be trifled with.


    ¡°You¡¯re not bad either!¡± said Cain.


    Just within a few minutes, they reduced the horde¡¯s number to half.


    Rugo climbed to a tree branch and looked at the horde. The remaining beasts hesitated to attack. But a growl from the Clastival Wolf put them back on aggressive stance. Another wave was coming at Cain.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Cain held Varestaz up high with both hands, then he pointed at the charging beasts. With a single breath, he thrust straight forward with a sonic boom on his back. He obliterated the beasts on his path with Gomara¡¯s technique called Magnum Glint. It produced a flash when used, and the user moved forward just within a split second with the energy around him as a sharp touch to the blockers of Cain¡¯s path. Dozens beasts fell down when Cain stopped.


    ¡°Your techniques are interesting! So this is how human fight, huh?¡± said Rugo, ¡°oops, here comes more!¡±


    The beasts that did not get caught by Magnum Glint began to swarm Cain. Cain spun while slashing the ground, five circling layers of earth thorn erupted around Cain, it became bigger at each outer layer, instantly skewered the beasts around Cain. It was an earth magic called Circlearth, from the Book.


    Cain looked at Varestaz, it survived five Gomara¡¯s techniques with no problem, it was the most durable weapon Cain ever held.


    ¡°Moasrahn¡¯s smithy is no joke, eh? Finally!¡± Cain felt excited, he finally found the weapon he could use repeatedly with Gomara¡¯s technique.


    The earth thorn crumbled shortly, burying half of the corpses. A giant Horned Bull Frog stood not far in front of him, Cain could see the tightening muscles on its hind legs.


    ¡°Gonna leap, huh? Bring it!¡± said Cain as he took a stance. He held the Horizon Breaker horizontally with two hands.


    The frog croaking three times, then with a powerful leap, he reached Cain with its big horn on its head.


    ¡°I can read you!¡± Cain swung Varestaz horizontally, he used Tigra Fang.


    But he slashed nothing, he felt nothing when the sword cut through the frog. Then he soon realized he only swung the sword hilt.


    ¡°(What? Where¡¯s the blade!?)¡± thought Cain when he was about to get hit by the frog.


    He was thrown by the frog, but he managed to parry the horn with the sword hilt in time and landed safely on the ground. The sword hilt gained another scratch.


    Cain held what¡¯s left of Varestaz in front of him, then he looked the area beside the frog, the blade shards of Varestaz scattered there.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Cain scratched his head.


    Rugo was jaw-dropped. ¡°Va-Varestaaaazz!?¡±


    Cain looked at Rugo with an apologetic smile and shrugged.


    ¡°H-how!?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°Complicated! We should deal with this first!¡± exclaimed Cain. He sheathed the hilt, thankfully the rain-guard was still intact, so the sword sheath still could hold it in place.


    With a growl, Rugo leaped to where the rest of the horde was. He began to kill the beasts again.


    Cain also leaped towards the frog. He spun vertically in the air and dived down with a kick, hitting the frog¡¯s body, but that was not enough to kill it. Then, Cain kneeled on its body and punched it, right punch, left punch, and finished with a double axe handle strike. Killing the frog with cracks spreading on the ground under it each time the punch landed.


    Far ahead, Rugo just took down the Redtusk Warthogs, the last layer of the Clastival Wolf¡¯s beast horde, only the leader left. Cain made his way to Rugo.


    ¡°What are you gonna do to it?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°... Yesterday, My job was to protect this beautiful creature, and now, I¡¯m going to do the opposite,¡± said Rugo, ¡°such life, eh.¡±


    Rugo sheathed his khukris, and took out the crossbow. He held the crossbow with right hand, aiming at the lone wolf.


    ¡°Must you kill it? It¡¯s a super rare beast,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I don''t know¡­ can¡¯t you tell from its eyes?¡±


    The wolf stood in front of them fearlessly, with the eyes of frenzied beast, quite different from Hoarts¡¯s gentle eyes. This Clastival Wolf¡¯s eyes reflected its life, being tossed out of the forest when it was still a cub, It miraculously survived the thin odds it faced, such harsh life molded its way of life; aggressive, unstable and unpredictable.


    Cain looked at the wolf sympathetically. ¡°Can you talk to it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I did, it refused to stand down, and will struggle ¡®till the very end.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you do what you have to do, then,¡± said Cain. But when Cain stepped aside, the wolf released a heavy pressure with an intimidating aura.


    ¡°Whoaah! What is this!?¡± Cain covered his eyes as the dust flew over him.


    The wolf growled, its eyes became red, even the red swallowed the pupils. Its body grew bigger, twice its early size. The claws on its legs grew out of control, some grew crooked and varied in size. The fangs grew in number, to the point it couldn''t even close its mouth properly because the unnatural number of its teeth and fangs. And some of the fur fell off, revealing some parts of its skin.


    The beautiful three-tailed wolf had transformed into an unrecognizable beast.


    ¡°Yoo! What is that!?¡± said Cain, he sensed a tremendous power emanated from the beast.


    Rugo growled, he looked at the beast sharply.


    Suddenly, the claws of the beast reached Rugo. Rugo managed to avoid the claws, he side-rolled to the side. The wave created from the claw swing obliterated the trees behind Rugo.


    ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t Clastival Wolf supposed to be weak!?¡± gasped Cain. ¡°(And look at that damage! It rivals Wind Guillotine¡¯s force!)¡±


    Rugo stood up. ¡°I only heard from the elders, while Kralv Clastival Wolf is weak, the non-Kralv Clastival Wolf is the opposite, because it doesn¡¯t share its power to the forest as its heart, it holds unpredictable ability and power, and what makes it worse, it just lost its mind! I can''t even speak to it!¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to get serious then!¡± exclaimed Cain.


    ¡°No,¡± responded Rugo, he put back the crossbow, ¡°I¡¯ll handle it alone, please don¡¯t interfere, Cain,¡± he added.


    ¡°... Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± said Rugo confidently.


    ¡°¡®Kay, just don''t die, you haven''t even out from the forest yet,¡± Cain smirked.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± responded Rugo.


    Rugo clasped his hands in front of his chest, bowed his head and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Thoars ha Jugrav,¡± said Rugo softly. Then, he took a stance, Rugo¡¯s claws finally made an appearance.

 Chapter 42 - Let Me Slay You

    The beast roared, with a roar that shook the ground and the trees around them. Then it rushed towards Rugo with its messy claws, the beast swung them down at Rugo.


    Unflinched, Rugo parried such force with one hand without breaking a sweat. Rugo held the beast¡¯s claws and crushed them with his fingers grip power. He spun and unleashed a backhand horizontal strike.


    The beast ducked, but was getting pushed back by the sheer force Rugo unleashed. The beast took a few steps back, realized its opponent was strong.


    ¡°(He is strong! He parried that claw strike with one hand! The claw strike that produces force rivals Gomara¡¯s technique! So this is the power of guardian of Kralv!)¡± thought Cain. He was watching the fight under a tree.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil came from behind Cain.


    ¡°Sorry Beil, we¡¯re taking a while, and the fight hasn''t over yet, get close to me in case something comes,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡±


    ¡°Alright, then, now let¡¯s see¡­¡± Cain took out the Book of Gomara. ¡°Hmm¡­ oh! There it is, Rabid Beastwolf,¡± he found the information about the beast in the Book.


    ¡°The description is just like how Rugo had explained¡­ and here it is, it comes from the unfortunate one of the Clastival Wolf twins.¡±


    There was a sentence that picked Cain¡¯s eyebrow.


    ¡®When a Clastival Wolf transforms into this beast, kill it immediately, it¡¯s a plague.¡¯


    ¡°... Truly unfortunate one this beast,¡± said Cain.


    Rugo and the Beastwolf circling each other. Because their clash earlier, the place became an open area.


    They both dashed to each other, Rugo skillfully evaded the attacks from the wolf, he slashed everytime the beast attacked with his claws. But the wounds Rugo inflicted only made it became more agile and stronger.


    The tenacity of the Rabid Beastwolf made Rugo had to stand on the defensive. But even on the defensive, Rugo¡¯s defense wasn¡¯t easy to break, he deflected each time the beast attacked, he even countered with a powerful uppercut to the jaw and destroyed the remaining claws. And Rugo hadn''t even got a single scratch even though he was on the defensive side.


    Realizing it did not work, the beast took a step back, and Rugo made this opportunity to the fullest. He attacked the beast with a hard-catch speed, his movement was nimble, he never struck on the same place, he moved around the beast, launching every hardest strikes as many as possible.


    Rugo cornered the beast with ease, but he stepped backwards to give the beast a chance to counter, as if he was toying with the beast. The body of the beast was a mess, the damage Rugo unleashed was devastating.


    The beast knew its enemy was overpowered, thus the beast charged its power and took a stance.


    Seeing the gesture the beast made, Rugo also took a side stance, with his body faced to the side, his right leg came forward to the beast, and his left leg to the opposite but straight aligned with his right leg.


    The Rabid Beastwolf growled at Rugo, the moasrahn replied with a grin. A breeze swept the leaves away on the ground. Both of them stood still.


    ¡°Thoars kei hivda, fo lingrard,¡± said Rugo.


    The beast leaped, the ground the beast kicked web-cracked, with speed almost rivaled Cain¡¯s Magnum Glint. It leaped towards Rugo with mouth wide open, its fangs and teeth were its last attempt to even scratch its opponent.


    Calmly, Rugo bent his upper body backwards, and he pulled his left leg to his back direction, to keep the center of gravity.


    The jaw made a clear clashing sound when it snapped, it bit the air. The beast failed, it was still flying above Rugo.


    Rugo smoothly evaded the horrendous jaw. But evading was not only Rugo¡¯s intention. The moment the jaw went past above him, Rugo¡¯s left leg kicked the ground, propelling his torso towards the beast. Rugo accurately bit the beast¡¯s throat with his fangs. Not only he evaded the attack, Rugo also successfully caught his enemy¡¯s vital point.


    Rugo slammed the beast while still biting its throat to the ground, then he lifted the beast to the air with his powerful jaw and slammed it again. The beast roared in pain.


    Still biting the beast¡¯s throat, Rugo¡¯s right hand gripped onto the beast¡¯s body, and his left hand held the jaw. Rugo ripped the beast¡¯s throat with his mouth.


    Blood spurted out from the throat. Some splashed on Rugo¡¯s face.


    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s so brutal!¡± gasped Cain.


    Rugo stepped backwards. He spitted the throat remains to the side.


    The beast in front of him kicking its leg, gasping for air. The kicking was getting weaker as the moment passing by.


    Rugo sighed while looking at the beast. It finally lost its life, he took another step backwards to avoid the pool of blood around the beast.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, huh?¡± said Cain as he walked towards Rugo with Beil, ¡°eh?¡± Cain looked at forest direction.


    Five figures appeared from behind the trees. They were moasrahns, one of them was Argen, the rest were deer moasrahns, the sentries.


    ¡°Brother!?¡± said Argen, ¡°I thought you¡¯re already out from the forest, what happened?¡° asked he.


    ¡°Ah, Argen,¡± Rugo turned around to Argen while wiping his mouth of the blood with his forearm. ¡°Short story? I just took your first job! Sorry, brother!¡± he laughed lightly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ judging from the beast corpses along the way here, it¡¯s a beast horde, right? You both stopped the beasts?¡± Argen looked around, ignoring his brother¡¯s laugh.


    ¡°Yeah, we stopped the horde,¡± said Cain, ¡°oh, by the way, Argen, about your father¡¯s swo-¡±


    ¡°He means Varestaz is awesome! Right, Cain?¡± said Rugo, he cut Cain¡¯s words and stopped Cain from facing Argen by gripping on Cain¡¯s shoulder, preventing the sword to be fully seen by Argen. He glanced at Cain, a sharp glance that told Cain not to tell what happened to the sword.


    ¡°Y-yeah, it is,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m glad to hear that,¡± Argen glanced at Cain¡¯s waist, where he could see the sword, only the hilt that was, because Cain¡¯s coat covered the sword from half of the hilt to the Argen-thought-the-blade-was-there. And Cain position wasn''t faced towards Argen, his right shoulder was. So, all Argen saw was the hilt.


    ¡°Right, well then, I¡¯ll leave the cleaning to you guys,¡± said Rugo, ¡°we¡¯ll be off.¡± he looked at Cain. Cain responded with a nod.


    Cain turned around and carefully moved the hilt so Argen wouldn''t realize it. He and Rugo started walking, leaving Argen and the sentries. Beil also walked beside them.


    ¡°Cain!¡± shouted Argen.


    ¡°Y-yeah?¡± Cain looked behind over his shoulder, not exactly looked at Argen.


    ¡°Keep my father¡¯s sword well!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, brother!¡± said Rugo. He lightly smacked Cain¡¯s back and waved at Argen. Then they walked again.


    ¡­


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± asked Cain. He sat on a big tree root that fully emerged from the ground.


    ¡°What? About the sword? Heh, I just saved you from a hassle,¡± Rugo replied.


    They were at a creek, still in the forest. Rugo washed his face with crystal clear water from the creek. Beil was playing in the water cheerfully, Cain took off the bandana before hand.


    ¡°Hmmh¡­ really?¡±


    ¡°I know my brother, he wouldn''t let you go.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll find the blade shards.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯ll be already out from the forest by the time he finds the shards,¡±


    ¡°What about you then? You don''t care about your father¡¯s sword?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Swords, lances, knives are just secondary weapons to us, no matter how good they are, our fangs and claws will be still our main weapons. But Argen is a bit different, sometimes, he prefer other weapons to our natural weapons, don''t know why, but that¡¯s just who he is.¡± Rugo also cleaned his forearm that was smeared with blood.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Then why do you use weapons at all if you have claws and fangs?¡±


    ¡°We moasrahns value our enemies based on their skills and strength. We only use our fangs and claws for the strong ones, the weak ones? Our secondary weapons do the trick.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Cain paused, ¡°you used your fangs and claws against the wolf.¡±


    ¡°That wolf was strong, don¡¯t you think?¡± Rugo stood up, he finished cleaning the blood from his face and arms.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s quite strong¡­ then what did you say before you fight it? I heard it faintly, but I¡¯m sure it wasn''t Vikr tongue,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Thoars ha jugrav,¡± said Rugo, ¡°you¡¯re worthy to be felled by my fangs, that¡¯s what it means. Oh and the other one, thoarsi kei hivda, fo lingrard, it means you¡¯ve lost your way, let me slay you.¡±


    ¡°Hoo¡­ cool, must be your native tongue. By the way, what I¡¯m going to do with this hilt?¡± Cain unsheathed the hilt.


    Rugo leaned on a large stone and crossed his arms. ¡°It¡¯s up to you, though it will offer you nothing unless you fit another blade there, and you¡¯re welcome to just put that there. I¡¯m sure Argen will find it,¡± Rugo pointed at a large stone with almost flat surface on his right side.


    Cain pondered his head for a moment.


    ¡°I feel bad to just leave it here, but like what you just said, it will offer me nothing if I carry this around,¡± Cain scratched his head. ¡°Ah, whatever! Sorry, Argen!¡± said Cain as he got up and put the hilt on the stone.


    Cain gazed the hilt for a moment, then he rolled his eyes towards Rugo.


    ¡°If it¡¯s okay to ask, where¡¯s your father? Or your mother? I didn¡¯t see them when the elders saw we off. Are they¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re no longer in this world,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Ah, sorry¡­ ugh, now I feel worse, Varestaz must¡¯ve been really important for your brother, it¡¯s your father¡¯s legacy after all.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to sorry about, I remember them as powerful warriors, it just fuels me to be better than them,¡± said Rugo while clenching his fist. ¡°And Argen? Avoid overthinking about it. How about yours?¡±


    ¡°Mine? Been an orphan since I still wet my bed, barely remember them,¡± Cain shrugged.


    ¡°We¡¯re the same then. Let¡¯s go, it just a minute or two and we¡¯ll be out of the forest,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go, Beil!¡±


    Beil came out of the water and shook the water off his fur. After Cain dried Beil with a piece of cloth a bit and tied back the bandana, Rugo led them out of the forest.


    Moasrahn Elder¡¯s House


    ¡°Now, we¡¯ve lost Rugo, Balrth¡¯s strongest moasrahn from our young generation. I expect you¡¯ll give extra effort to train other moasrahn warriors, at least on his level, right, Bilvrast?¡± asked Koghr, he sat with other elders.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m doing everyday. But, you underestimated Rugo by saying he is Balrth¡¯s strongest from our young generation. He is a lot stronger than that, well, give him time,¡± replied Bilvrast.


    ¡°True, Gias¡¯s blood run through his veins, the thick blood of a Reaver,¡± responded Fizol.


    ¡°Argen?¡± asked Geam.


    ¡°He¡¯s among the strongest too, but sadly, nowhere near his brother¡¯s level. He¡¯s also son of Gias but unfortunately, he doesn''t have Reaver magic like his brother,¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°Too bad, huh? Rugo hogged all the Reaver bloodline from their father,¡± Bilvrast laughed.


    ¡°Reaver magic, huh¡­ a rare magic from our race that uses the caster¡¯s lifespan to use it,¡± commented Fizol.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s rare already, but the practitioner is even more rare,¡± said Bilvrast.


    Moasrasns who had talent for Reaver magic were rare, and the ones who mastered it were even harder to come by. Because even using a slightest of this magic reduced a portion of the practitioner¡¯s lifespan, harsh training was issued for moasrahns who had this magic, most of them died because of overusing it. It was risky, but beyond the risk, a tremendous power awaited, a power that always tempted who had talent of this magic.


    ¡°I saw last month mock battle, Rugo beat Argen even without using Reaver magic,¡± said Koghr. ¡°Can Rugo fully use Reaver magic, Bilvrast?¡± asked Koghr


    ¡°Not yet, but I know he broke the limit easily because of his mixed blood, he is a hybrid after all.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Gias was a jaguar moasrahn, he was a master of Reaver magic, and his wife, Glea, a snow leopardess moasrahn, the master of magic resistance¡­ as you said, give him time. Moreover, he¡¯s traveling the world right now, he¡¯ll grow, and I hope there is wisdom that¡¯ll develop from his traveling. Who knows, maybe he¡¯ll lead our people one day,¡± said Koghr.


    The other elders nodded in agreement.


    ¡°By the way, I think human in the past also in possession of Reaver magic, though it¡¯s not as perfect as ours,¡± said Koghr.


    ¡°Human is a cunning race, I bet they got it from us,¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°Speaking of human, what do you think about that human called Cain?¡± asked Koghr.


    ¡°He is amusing! Hahah!¡± said Bilvrast.


    ¡°I couldn''t really measure him, but he¡¯s strong for sure,¡± said Fizol.


    ¡°It¡¯d be good if Rugo befriends him, I know Rugo would surprise everyone when he enters a town or some human settlements. So maybe Cain could help him with that, if they travel together after they get out from the forest that is,¡± said Koghr.


    Geam nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Heh, Rugo is smart, and with his keen and perceptive mind he¡¯ll manage even without the help of Cain, don''t worry too much about it. But I agree, traveling with a human companion could give him a broader perspective,¡± responded Bilvrast.


    Outside Balrth Forest, Ezilai Kingdom Territory


    A meadow presented to Cain and Rugo after they got out from the forest. The breeze gently whistled over the grass, with the sun hanging over their heads.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll be going to Ezilai Kingdom¡¯s beach town. Where will you go from here?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I still don¡¯t know, but it intrigues me when you said beach town, I¡¯ve never been to one,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Beach? Oh yeah, you never leave the forest.¡±


    ¡°Meip?¡±


    ¡°Hm, maybe, I¡¯m sure it will be a good experience,¡± said Rugo in response to Beil.


    ¡°What did Beil say?¡± asked Cain curiously.


    ¡°He said ¡®will you come with us?¡¯¡± Rugo chuckled, ¡°alright, I¡¯ll come along to this beach town if you don¡¯t mind,¡± he added.


    ¡°Not at all! Let¡¯s go!¡± said Cain.


    After an hour of walking in the meadow, they finally found the main road. They could see a caravan, heading their way from forest direction.


    ¡°There¡¯s a caravan, let¡¯s greet them,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Rugo replied.


    They waited the caravan to come to them by the side of the road. Cain could see four closed carriages, with some horsemen.


    But before the caravan reached them, it stopped. Some people with weapons came out from the carriages. The horsemen also unsheathed their weapons. Two horsemen and four armed men came closer towards Cain and Rugo cautiously.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Cain frowned.


    ¡°I have a hunch,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°What?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Hey! You! Who are you? What is that creature beside you!?¡± shouted one of the horsemen.


    ¡°My hunch is spot on,¡± Rugo groaned. ¡°I¡¯m not just any creature! I am a moasrahn! We mean no harm!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°Shit! It talked!?¡± said the horseman, he was bald and clean shaved.


    ¡°I thought it was a beast!¡± said a long-haired horseman, he had a braided beard.


    The other four men were also puzzled.


    ¡°Ask them again, Bogram!¡± said the long-haired horseman to the bald horseman.


    ¡°The fuck should I ask, Dearg!? Are you blind? Look at that! That supposed-to-be-jaguar is standing with two freakin¡¯ legs! And it talked! And I understand what he¡¯s saying! And they are armed! Well, only the beast! But who knows maybe that man has a dagger or two underneath his coat!¡±


    ¡°Calm the heck down, Bogram!¡± said Dearg.


    They looked confused.


    ¡°Oh, I understand¡­¡± Cain sighed. Then he walked towards them.


    They tensed up when Cain casually came closer.


    ¡°Sorry, we really mean no harm, that is my friend,¡± Cain pointed at Rugo with his thumb, ¡°not a beast just a moasrahn, you know them, right? That extinct race?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Ah, I know that word! Moasrahn, eh? But are you really sure??¡± responded the haired horseman called Dearg.


    ¡°That thing said that itself, you moron! Didn''t you hear!?¡± said the bald horseman, Bogram.


    ¡°I thought I misheard it, but when I heard it three times by now,¡± an old man came out from the carriage, he wore a pale yellow robe, hanging on his chest a long white beard.


    ¡°Let see,¡± he took out his spectacles from his pocket and wore it, then he walked closer to them.


    ¡°Fascinating!¡± he said, with a face of excitement.


    Bogram and Dearg just shrugged at each other.


    ¡°My name is Ogen Farenn, I am a professor at Heldar University, focused on moasrahn history,¡±


    ¡°I am Cain, here is Rugo.¡±


    Rugo walked closer to them.


    ¡°I can''t believe it¡­ I finally have the chance to meet what I pursue in history itself, moasrahn!¡± said Ogen. ¡°Heh, I never believed moasrahns with their prosperity just fall with a war and go extinct!¡± he added.


    ¡°(Looks like what Cain said is true, humans think we¡¯re extinct,)¡± thought Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my bodyguards behaviour, they have foul mouths but they¡¯re just doing their jobs. They thought you¡¯re bandits,¡± sneered Ogen.


    Bogram and Dearg awkwardly smiled at Cain and Rugo.


    ¡°No problem, we¡¯re just on our way to the beach town when we saw your caravan. So I thought we could hitch a ride to the nearest village or maybe the beach town if your destination is there,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to Ulstena? Sure! You can come with us! That¡¯s my next stop before I go to Heldar University at the capital.¡± said Ogen enthusiastically.


    ¡°That¡¯s the beach town¡¯s name, huh?¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Indeed, the famous weary-cleansing town for its vacation vibe, though I find the town is boring by now because I always go there with my family every year,¡± said Ogen, ¡°come, you can sit with me in my carriage,¡± Ogen invited Cain and Rugo.


    ¡°Carriage¡­¡± mumbled Rugo. He and Cain followed Ogen to the carriage.


    ¡°But, I¡¯ll ask a price for that,¡± Ogen turned around towards Cain and Rugo after he opened the carriage door.


    ¡°I already know about it, human professor. Let¡¯s get it on with it,¡± Rugo just casually went inside the carriage, ¡°oh, quite spacious in here! Come in, Cain!¡± he said.


    ¡°You already know??¡± Ogen looked inside at Rugo who had been sitting comfortably inside the carriage.


    ¡°Yeah, Information, right? Wait, knowledge is more appropriate for a scholar,¡± said Rugo with a grin.


    ¡°Superb! Your kind is always this dangerously sharp-witted? Ah, nevermind!¡± Ogen was surprised and excited. ¡°Come in, Cain,¡± he turned his gaze towards Cain.


    ¡°Right,¡± Cain took Beil from the ground and went inside the carriage.


    ¡°Oh, I didn''t realize that one,¡± said Ogen as he saw Beil, ¡°you are pretty odd group combination; a human, a moasrahn and an otter.¡±


    ¡°Memeeiip!¡± cried Beil, Cain put Beil on his lap.


    ¡°Of course we are, Beil!¡± said Rugo with a little smile.


    ¡°... Beil?...¡± Ogen paused, then he looked at Cain, then Rugo, then to the otter. ¡°This otter is called Beil?... did you just talk to the otter!?¡± Ogen looked at Rugo, he was clearly baffled.


    ¡°I did,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°He did,¡± said Cain. They said the same time.


    ¡°Sweet Goddess! Animal tongue!? Wasn''t just a myth!? Hah! Everyone in the University will envy what I will learn!¡± gasped the professor.


    Ogen got in the carriage after he hand-signaled his bodyguards to continue their way to the beach town, Ulstena.

 Chapter 43 - Road to Ulstena

    ¡°Ugh, stop staring at me, human, just out with it!¡± said Rugo uncomfortably. He was closely being inspected up and down by Ogen.


    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m inspecting moasrahn¡¯s actual physique,¡± said Ogen, he tucked his spectacles a couple of times on his nose.


    The carriage was spacious, there was also a small table with a tableware set in the corner.


    ¡°Are you perhaps a hybrid, Rugo?¡± asked Ogen.


    ¡°Sharp eyes¡­ yes, I am a jagupard,¡± Rugo replied.


    ¡°Rosette patterns with spots, Jaguar. A long tail? Leopard,¡± Ogen smiled. ¡°I also teach about animal kingdom in the University, of course I can identify what type of moasrahn you are,¡± he added, then resumed inspecting Rugo.


    After he wrote a whole page on his hand-sized book, he cleared his throat, and closed the book. ¡°Where have you been all this time? Not you individually of course but your race,¡± asked Ogen.


    ¡°It¡¯s gonna take time, alright, let me tell you,¡± said Rugo. He told moasrahn was exhausted after the war, the war that lasted for six hundred years. To avoid further conflict they divided their already small number into small groups. Then they spread all over the world, to preserve themselves and waiting for their population to matter again before returning to the civilization.


    Rugo also revealed historical knowledge that made the professor never stopped his excitement. Of course Rugo vaguely told him about where he came from, he just told him some forest in the land and he just got out from the said forest to see how was the world after moasrahn seclusion.


    To add more gasps, Rugo actually knew so much information about humans, their culture, habits and even their history.


    ¡°You studied about us? I thought moasrahn never cared about other races?¡± Ogen poured a brown translucent liquid into two handleless cups on the table, the steam produced sweet fragrance as the liquid filled the cups. Then Ogen offered them to his guests with his hand gesture. The carriage was spacious enough to prepare such tea, and there was minimum vibration from the carriage because they traveled with a slow pace.


    Rugo reached the cup with his big hand. ¡°Of course, while watching the forest, I read, we have a lot of books.¡± he said before he one gulped the tea, ¡°not bad,¡± he continued.


    Cain leaned towards the table and took the cup, but he realized the tea was really hot to the point he put the cup back to the table. He rolled over his eyes at Rugo, but not only him, Ogen also wide eyed over Rugo. Both of them had how-he-drank-this-hot-tea-with-one-gulp expression.


    Ogen quickly wrote another sentence, absolutely about Rugo¡¯s show.


    ¡°Moasrahn is bound by history because we tend to worship our ancestors. So when we spread all over the the world, besides family, history and knowledge books were our luggage,¡± said Rugo, ¡°oh yeah, there is actually a book about Gomara, the mysterious hero in our collection.¡±


    ¡°Ah! I missed it!¡± gasped Cain.


    Rugo shrugged. ¡°Unfortunately, I haven''t read that book, so nothing I can tell you.¡±


    ¡°Moasrahn has a book about Gomara? Interesting¡­ Gomara¡¯s history is full of holes even to us, but your race is actually have a book about him? Hmm¡­¡± Ogen stroked his beard.


    ¡°Of course we have others as well, even older ones, like Letra, or Krilos, the Conqueror,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Letra? The the one who sank Tinvaly Continent thousands years ago? It¡¯s in basic history lesson, and Krilos¡­ hmm that Fallen Hero who conquered Nazula. It¡¯s not rare either, you can find it in every library in the city,¡± responded Ogen. ¡°Oh well, nevermind, it¡¯s not my focus, but, you have all that knowledge and never left the forest?¡±


    ¡°What I know is just from literatures, I have no actual experience about them. Such as beach, I¡¯m eager to see the blue scape on the horizon, running on the sand, I read it¡¯s hard to run on such terrain. And the fiery sun above your head that would leave mark on your skin!¡± Rugo tapping his chin with two fingers while looking at the meadow from the glass window.


    Then he chuckled. ¡°Even riding this carriage is also a new experience for me.¡±


    The old man smiled, gentle and heartful. ¡°Welcome back to the civilization, moasrahn,¡± Ogen said.


    They talked about a lot of things, one of the subject that really made Ogen bemused was moasrahn¡¯s culture. When Ogen asked about that, Cain jumped in with a simple question.


    ¡°When we at the elder¡¯s house, I got the impression that moasrahn doesn¡¯t have any meaning about slavery,¡± said Cain, ¡°is there no slavery even in the ancient days of your race?¡±


    ¡°You have talked with moasrahn elder!?¡± Ogen wide-eyed, fixed at Cain.


    ¡°He was a guest of honour in the village, though it¡¯s only a day or two,¡± sneered Rugo.


    ¡°That must¡¯ve been an extravagant experience! Ah, how envious!¡± said Ogen.


    Cain just smiled. ¡°So?¡± he looked at Rugo.


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s no slavery in our culture. We have this instinct to be the strongest, but if you can¡¯t, follow the strongest,¡± said Rugo. ¡°So, if one clan invaded by another clan and lose, the losing side only has two choices; leave, or willingly to follow the winner, hoping they could learn more to become stronger themselves. Yes, we do have nature to dominate, but it isn¡¯t in form of slavery, but just to beat other with strength or brain.¡±


    ¡°What about revenge for the fallen ones?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Ah, revenge, yes. You could settle your grudge, the winning side would allow that. If you have the power that is, most don''t have that, that¡¯s why the other wins. That being said we also allow the losers to leave, no one is forcing them to stay, but just like what I said, most will follow, because the winner proved they¡¯re stronger than them and they could offer more protection to the elderly or children. In other words, we never enslave our own kin,¡± explained Rugo.


    ¡°How about enslaving other races?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°We didn''t really care about other races in the past, remember?¡± answered Rugo.


    ¡°Ah, right,¡± Cain nodded in response.


    ¡°Interesting¡­ ¡° Ogen looked at Rugo curiously, ¡°how about your age? I know moasrahns have a long lifespan. So I¡¯m curious about your age.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°My age? Hmm¡­ I¡¯m seventy one.¡±


    Cain gawked at Rugo for a few seconds.


    ¡°And how many years exactly you have left?¡± asked Ogen, he wasn''t surprised at all.


    ¡°Who knows, but I expect I have¡­¡± Rugo frowned and rolled up his eyes. ¡°I expect I still have four hundred to five hundred years left in me.¡± he said.


    ¡°Seventy... man, you¡¯re old! I thought you were thirties!¡± exclaimed Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil also gave his opinion.


    ¡°Not really, for a moasrahn, age up to 100 years is still considered young, right?¡± responded Ogen, he looked at Rugo.


    ¡°Right, for our physiques that is, but our minds are just like what you humans have been through for seventy years.¡± Rugo tapped his temple.


    ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t really get it,¡± said Cain as he frowned.


    ¡°Our minds have a growth similar to human¡¯s, but our bodies grow slower because of our longevity. If I were a human, just think I¡¯m an old man in a body of twenties or thirties.¡± Rugo smiled a little.


    ¡°I see, wait, you¡¯ll even get taller than now?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°I will, you saw the elders, that¡¯s the pinnacle of moasrahn¡¯s height, though some even grow taller and bigger. But I think the tallest jaguar or leopard moasrahn was 7 to 8 feet.¡± said Rugo.


    Cain nodded a couple of times. ¡°Yeah, I bet Koghr¡¯s height is more than 10 feet with his antlers!¡± he exclaimed.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil seemed to agree.


    Ogen was busy with his pen and book.


    ¡°Ogen, let me ask you two questions,¡± said Rugo.


    Ogen stopped writing and closed his book. ¡°Sure, sure, ask away,¡± he said.


    ¡°Why are you so interested in my race?¡± asked Rugo without wasting breathe.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ogen gently stroked his beard. ¡°History of other races are fascinating, even more your people history. A powerful race that didn''t really care about others, suddenly had a massive civil war and vanished. What we really knew about you back then? Almost nothing, as most of your people was so strict about the ancient pact. History always taught us about something, what we should avoid, what we should do. Because history is a cycle, we could learned so much just from looking back. Just like how some ancient technologies are better than what we have right now. It¡¯s a shame, war after war is what makes the creation of the Goddess, us, races of Nazula, degraded.¡±


    ¡°Learning history from other fallen races to prevent disaster and preserve your own race¡­ really, human is so cunning,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°History of other races could give you a whole new perspective, I think you can relate to that,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°Indeed, learning other¡¯s culture is always interesting,¡± responded Rugo, ¡°now, the second question¡­ what will you really do with the knowledge about my people?¡±


    ¡°Publish it of course! There are plenty of people who are curious about moasrahn!¡± exclaimed Ogen. ¡°Or would you rather to keep it for myself?¡±


    Rugo chuckled. ¡°Do as you wish, if it¡¯s really the time, your publication will help my people reappearance.¡±


    ¡°Moasrahn is planning to reappear!?¡± What a wonderful news!¡± gasped Ogen.


    ¡°Still planning, but the gear of motion has already been set,¡± Rugo smiled lightly.


    ¡°I see! Whenever that time comes, I¡¯ll support it wholeheartedly! But I hope it¡¯s soon, I¡¯m already old!¡±


    ¡°No promise here, but thank you, Professor,¡± responded Rugo.


    Ogen nodded with a smile.


    ¡°By the way Professor Ogen, what can you tell me about this beach town, Ulstena?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Ah, beach town, it used to be the town¡¯s name, Beach Town. When the town grew into a big town because its white sands and friendly waves, oh, not to mention it became one of the major trading ports with other countries by sea, King Gulfet named it Ulstena twenty years ago, based on the same name of the Grand Dragon Ulstena, Heir of the Ocean,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s it! I¡¯ve been wondering where I¡¯ve heard that name before! It¡¯s one of those Grand Dragons!¡± exclaimed Rugo.


    ¡°Unfortunately, Grand Dragons are nowhere to be found since the War of the Dragons ended, and that is more than a thousand years ago. There are still dragons out there though,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°Yeah, I know, shortly after War of the Dragons, the great civil war of moasrahn started. Too bad, huh, I wanted to see a Grand Dragon before my eyes just once,¡± said Rugo.


    Ogen¡¯s gaze met Cain¡¯s eye, then he rolled his eyes at Rugo.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± asked Ogen.


    ¡°Huh? What?¡± Rugo replied.


    ¡°There¡¯s is actually a Grand Dragon you could see,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°What!? There is!? Where!?¡± said Rugo, a perplexed look on his face.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ you don''t know what caused the War of the Dragons to end?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I have a vague knowledge about that, I think the book containing the record of War of the Dragons that I read was half burnt. I asked the elders, they gave me the answer about how the Abysmal Grand Dragon Arxeo was sealed by Luxigrum, the Hope Grand Dragon. That¡¯s it,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, but what your elders did not tell you is Luxigrum himself is guarding the seal, in the land of west from here, even now,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°Are you serious!?¡± Rugo became excited.


    ¡°Uh-huh, But you¡¯ll be disappointed when you see it, he¡¯s neither alive nor dead,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ the sun is setting,¡± Ogen looked over the window. ¡°How about we make a camp and rest for the day, in the first light we¡¯ll continue to Ulstena. While enjoying the supper I¡¯ll tell you what happened between Arxeo and Luxigrum, though I¡¯m not really knowledgeable in dragon¡¯s history but I¡¯ll tell what I know.¡± offered Ogen.


    ¡°I already know about the dragons but it sounds good to me for supper,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°This knowledge about dragons interest me,¡± responded Rugo.


    Ogen nodded lightly with a little smile.


    After the caravan stopped, they camped by the side of the road. Their camp was quite big, there were sixteen bodyguards plus Ogen, Cain and Rugo. They enjoyed the bonfire and the meal. They cooked their supper in the bonfire, with a simple metal structure to hold the pot over the fire, meat stew was the menu.


    Cain, Rugo and Ogen sat near the bonfire, Beil was sleeping on Cain¡¯s lap. They finished their supper, except Rugo, he¡¯s on his third plate, thankfully they cooked a lot.


    ¡°You like the idea of camping in the wilderness, Professor Ogen?¡± said Cain to Ogen who sat across him, with the bodyguards as they background, talking one another. But most of them were watching the unusual figure there, the moasrahn. They looked so curious, Rugo ignored the glances, instead he focused what¡¯s in his plate.


    ¡°Hah, I like the idea of camping, but when it¡¯s time to sleep I always sleep there,¡± Ogen pointed the carriage they rode with his thumb, ¡°my old back can¡¯t take it with only hay-stuffed sleeping bag,¡± he chuckled.


    ¡°I see,¡± Cain smiled, then he drank from a small metal mug.


    ¡°Is there any left?¡± Rugo asked one of the bodyguards as he glanced at the pot.


    ¡°Uhh, yes, we all have eaten, you can have what¡¯s left on the pot,¡± said the bodyguard.


    Rugo got up and went to pot. He took the entire pot with two hands, did not bothered by the heat from the pot that touched directly by the fire. Then he sat back at his initial spot.


    The same expression Cain and Ogen wore when they were drinking tea at the carriage now adorned the faces of the guards.


    ¡°Look at fuckin¡¯ that, Dearg! He touched the pot as if it was nothing!¡± said Bogram.


    ¡°Moasrahns are amazing, aren''t they!¡± said Dearg, he shook his head in amazement.


    Rugo ignored them and just ate the meat directly from the tilted pot that he lifted slightly above his mouth with two hands. First chug, Rugo chewed the meat then onto the next chug until the third chug made the pot empty.


    Rugo put down the pot and wiped his mouth with his forearm. ¡°Not too tasty, quite bland, but still meat, can¡¯t really complaint,¡± he said.


    ¡°Big appetite I see,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m full, let¡¯s hear about the history of the Grand Dragons,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Sure, but, do you want me to tell you about the reason of the war in the first place?¡± asked Ogen.


    ¡°I already kno-...¡± Rugo paused, ¡°sure, I wonder if it¡¯s the same as the one I read.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Ogen smiled. ¡°Oi boys! Sit down you muscle heads! I¡¯ll tell you an important history,¡± shouted Ogen to his bodyguards. ¡°And maybe this history could give you a scholar title when we get to Heldar.¡±


    The bodyguards responded with smiles and chuckles, they gathered near the bonfire and sat down, ready to listen.

 Chapter 44 - A Tale From The Past

    ¡°This will take us to thousands years ago.¡± Ogen cleared his throat. ¡°Once upon time, the mighty Grand Dragons ruled Nazula. Everything lived in harmony, until the Goddess created more intelligent creatures. Human, the nomaden race. Moasrahn, the fierce warrior race. Ocea, the seafolk. Nubilum, the cloudwalker, and other minor races. At first, the diversity was beautiful. But it turned 180 degrees when they grew into a big population. The harmony fell off, war after war erupted. As the Goddess didn''t do anything, so was her first living creation, the Grand Dragons. War, peace, war, peace, the cycle kept repeating for thousands of years. Kingdom after kingdom, ruler after ruler, heroes, villains, hero turned into villain, villain turned into savior and so on. The breakpoint was when our faith shifted. When ocea started to worship Ulstena as their God, and nubilum worshipped Rakhel, the Grand Dragon of Skypiercer Mountain. Also moasrahn, chose their ancestors in their prayer rather than their creator. After that, almost all Grand Dragons were worshipped, except one, Arxeo.¡±


    Ogen sipped his drink. They eyes that focused on him were eager to hear more. He used to it, after all he was a professor at Heldar University.


    ¡°Then one day, it happened, the Abysmal Grand Dragon Arxeo obliterated a kingdom. Out of jealousy! Because no one worshipped him. Why there¡¯s no one worshipped him? Because there was a prophecy, a prophecy of a Grand Dragon that would turn Nazula asunder, that was Arxeo, the Bringer of Destruction. When the prophecy was spread out to every corner of the world, the world became wary of Arxeo¡¯s existence. But no one dared to make a move, not even Arxeo¡¯s fellow Grand Dragons, because the Abysmal Grand Dragon was the strongest among Goddess¡¯s creation. One thing that the races of world did, to prevent the prophecy to become true, they hunted the hellbent Goddess¡¯s creation that supported the destruction of Nazula, be it human, moasrahn, or from other races, they killed them all. They did that for over hundreds of years, without Arxeo knowing. But what they did was a terrible mistake, when Arxeo finally knew what happened to his to-be worshippers, he snapped. Arxeo gave the true meaning of terror to half of the world with his unstoppable rampage. The Grand Dragons had no choice but to interfere, when they did that, Arxeo agreed to stop, but he demanded to have fight just between Grand Dragons because he thought the other Grand Dragons were the ones to blame. The Grand Dragons agreed, they had no choice but to have a fight with the strongest of their kind in a week. Hope Grand Dragon Luxigrum was the leader of the Grand Dragons that would subdue Arxeo, he was confident because no matter how strong Arxeo was, they would outnumber him. He rallied all Grand Dragons to oppose Arxeo.¡±


    ¡°So far it¡¯s no different from what I¡¯ve read,¡± mumbled Rugo.


    ¡°A week had passed. Finally, Arxeo battled his own kin, And Hope Grand Dragon¡¯s confidence was shattered when Abysmal Grand Dragon¡¯s power exceeded his calculation, Arxeo was too strong! More than twenty Grand Dragons couldn''t stop his power, they only managed to slow him, but not strong enough to stop him,¡± Ogen stroked his beard, ¡°let me remind you that the power of even just one Grand Dragon was ridiculous, to pulverize a big city with fully prepared defense was an easy task for one of them, so you could imagine how strong Arxeo was.¡±


    Some bodyguards gulped, thinking about Arxeo¡¯s power.


    ¡°The nightmare did not stop at that, when six Grand Dragons chose to side with Arxeo because his foul coercion, it complicated the situation for Luxigrum. But Luxigrum was cunning, he already enlisted the help of humans, his back up plan. He broke the agreement, but he did not care because Arxeo would obliterate the world if they agree to Arxeo¡¯s term; to fight only between Grand Dragons. The preparation of the help couldn''t be completed quickly, Luxigrum¡¯s side had no choice but to wait and fight on. The war between the Grand Dragons lasted for full two years! For two years they kept battling each other!¡±


    ¡°Damn, how strong these Grand Dragons actually were!?¡± said Bogram.


    ¡°Why only human helped Luxigrum?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°According to ¡®The Fall of The Mightiest¡¯ history book, that¡¯s because humans offered themselves to help Luxigrum, and Luxigrum took the help with open arms unlike Rakhel and Ulstena, who forbade other races to join them to fight Arxeo,¡± Ogen replied.


    Rugo nodded lightly a couple of times.


    ¡°At last, the long-awaited help was finally completed, it was a spell, and a pit, an enormous deep pit that even bigger than an upside down mountain. A perfect sealing spell and a massive area to contain the Abysmal Grand Dragon, because Luxigrum realized he couldn''t beat Arxeo, so, all he could do was seal him,¡± Ogen continued, ¡°Luxigrum lured Arxeo to the pit and let the humans sacrificed themselves to activate the spell. It worked.¡±


    Ogen stared the moon. ¡°Arxeo struggled, resulting nothing. The spell was specifically designed for him to trap him for the eternity. With the Bringer of Destruction sealed, the War of the Dragons came to an end. The war brought heavy casualties to the Grand Dragons and the world. All of the Grand Dragons went to deep slumber including the traitorous six Grand Dragons, away from the eyes of living beings, except Luxigrum.¡±


    ¡°What happened to him?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°After he sealed Arxeo in the deepest pit human ever made, Luxigrum never left the pit, he¡¯s standing guard, but also ignored anything around him. He¡¯s not moving, not even breathing, and his eyes closed. But you still can hear the faint sound of his heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°And the other Grand Dragons?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°Haven''t been seen since the war ended,¡± answered Ogen.


    ¡°And where are Luxigrum and Arxeo?¡±


    ¡°In Dragon¡¯s Pit, in the wasteland of Libelishe Kingdom,¡± said Cain, ¡°it¡¯s in the top three of my destinations,¡± Cain shrugged.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± responded Rugo. ¡°I¡¯m also wondering why Goddess Nazula did not intervene all of those,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Who knows, Rugo,¡± Ogen sighed, ¡°some say the divine being is too complex for our little minds to comprehend. Some also say, that the Goddess chose to observe only, and let us resolve our own problems because we are gifted with mind to think, freedom to choose and the ability to differentiate what is right and wrong, that is what separate us to animals after all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe that¡¯s why in the past our faith¡­ ah, nevermind,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, boys! Get some rest!¡± said Ogen, he dismissed the bodyguards.


    ¡°The night is just getting started, Sir!¡± exclaimed Bogram.


    ¡°Whatever, just don''t overdo it, we¡¯ll set out in the morning,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°No problem, Sir!¡± said Dearg. The bodyguards went back to their activities again, drinking and chatting.


    ¡°Oi, you! Rugo, isn''t it? Come with us,¡± said Bogram, Dearg was next to him. Also some bodyguards behind them looked eager.


    ¡°Hrrh, why?¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Just come, it¡¯s a game!¡± said Dearg.


    ¡°It¡¯d better be good,¡± said Rugo as he stood up.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ I still can¡¯t believe I met a moasrahn,¡± said Ogen to Cain while watching Rugo went with the bodyguards.


    ¡°Uh-huh, moasrahn is really interesting,¡± responded Cain.


    Rugo and the bodyguards stopped not far from Ogen and Cain. In front of them, two barrels were being put down side by side by two bodyguards, then a wide flat wooden board placed on the barrels. They just made a table from whatever they could use.


    ¡°I heard moasrahn is fierce and strong. Are you, Rugo?¡± Bogram stretched out his arm, then he put his right arm on the board with his elbow as the base. ¡°Let¡¯s find out!¡± he said.


    Rugo stared at Bogram for a few seconds. Then the edge of his mouth was pulled wide, he was grinning. ¡°Arm wrestling? The classic that never gets old! Sure, Baldy!¡± exclaimed Rugo.


    The bodyguards around them cheered, they attracted more bodyguards.


    Rugo also stretched out his right arm.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet!¡± said Dearg.


    ¡°For sure!¡± said Bogram, he retracted his right arm and reached his pouch. He threw the pouch onto the board.


    ¡°Money, huh? I don¡¯t have your currency, human,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°You can bet anything, Rugo!¡± said Bogram.


    ¡°Heh, alright,¡± Rugo reached his khukris and put them on the board. ¡°I know you¡¯ve been eyeing my knives,¡± Rugo grinned at Bogram.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± Bogram was so excited. ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ wait,¡± said Rugo, then he looked at Dearg. ¡°Do you have money as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course!¡± Dearg replied.


    Rugo grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s raise the bet!¡± he said. Rugo took his crossbow and put it on the board.


    He tapped the crossbow. ¡°High tech from my people,¡± he said.


    The bodyguards looked at the crossbow they had never seen before, it looked complicated.


    ¡°It can blow an ogre¡¯s head with one bolt, and you can rapid fire its 24 bolts before reloading,¡± said Rugo.


    The bodyguards gasped when they heard Rugo¡¯s words.


    ¡°I¡¯m in!¡± Dearg threw his coin pouch. ¡°But how we do this? You¡¯ll take me on after Bogram?¡±


    ¡°No need!¡± Rugo put his both elbows on the board. ¡°I¡¯ll take you both at the same time,¡± said Rugo with a sharp smile.


    The board was wide and thick, enough to hold two arm wrestling.


    The crowd was silent for a few seconds. Dearg and Bogram looked at each other, then they looked at Rugo while grinning. ¡°Don''t regret it, Rugo!¡±


    The crowd suddenly cheered with an explosion of excitement. Dearg signaled one of the bodyguards to take the bet off from the board. The bodyguards also made their own bets.


    Dearg and Bogram gripped Rugo¡¯s hands. Bogram held Rugo''s right hand, Dearg held the other. The three of them put their off-hand on their backs.


    ¡°Are you guys ready?¡± said the bodyguard, she led the the arm wrestling. She tapped Rugo''s hands that clasped with Bogram and Dearg''s hand.


    ¡°Yeaaahh!!!¡± shouted Dearg and Bogram.


    Rugo just grinned and nodded.


    ¡°Aaaand¡­ wreck it!!!¡± shouted the woman. She smacked the board with her palm, producing a loud sound.


    Bogram and Dearg unleashed their muscle strength. They were physically muscular, with some veins tightening on their biceps, one could see they had strong arms.


    ¡°Hhhhnggg!!!¡± Dearg and Bogram struggled.


    ¡°Hoo, not bad! Just lack concentration!¡± shouted Rugo.


    Rugo began dominating Dearg and Bogram¡¯s pressure. Their hands were slowly moving towards Rugo¡¯s win.


    ¡°Gaahhh!!¡±


    ¡°Rraaahh!!¡±


    Bogram gritted his teeth while Dearg struggling with eyes closed.


    Rugo just grinned. He effortlessly taking them on.


    The crowd cheered both of them. All of the bodyguards were surrounding them.


    ¡°What the heck is this monstrous strength!?¡± said Dearg.


    ¡°Shut up, Dearg! Focus!¡± shouted Bogram.


    ¡°It ends now,¡± said Rugo, he added more pressure.


    Slowly, Bogram and Dearg¡¯s hands touched the board.


    The crowd cheered Rugo, they even said his name in excitement. ¡°Rugo! Rugo!¡± cried the bodyguards. Some were upset because they lost the bet.


    Dearg and Bogram released their hands from Rugo¡¯s.


    ¡°Aw, shit! We lost! said Bogram, he rubbed his elbow.


    ¡°Bleh,¡± Dearg rubbed his wrist.


    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re having fun there,¡± said Cain, looking at the crowd.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be young!¡± responded Ogen.


    ¡°Oi, Cain! Come here!¡± shouted Rugo.


    ¡°And looks like I¡¯ve been called,¡± said Cain. ¡°Do you mind holding Beil, Professor?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, actually I wanted to pet him when we were at the carriage!¡± Ogen took Beil from Cain, Beil stretched in his sleep when Ogen took him.


    ¡°Barfer otter, eh?¡± said Ogen, he stroked Beil¡¯s head gently.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Cain nodded as he got up and went to the crowd. ¡°What do we have here? asked Cain. The crowd gave him a way to the barrels.


    ¡°You know what it is, come on, no bet needed!¡± said Rugo. His hand was ready on the board, firmly waiting for another hand to clasp against it.


    ¡°Arm wrestling? Heh, seems fun!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Are you serious!? This fuckin¡¯ jaguar beat us both at the same time!¡± said Bogram.


    ¡°Jagupard,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Yeah, whatever that is!¡± said Bogram.


    ¡°It¡¯s a challenge, as a man I shouldn''t back down,¡± said Cain as he took off his coat. He wore a simple white shirt beneath the coat. Then he pulled up the sleeves past the elbows.


    ¡°Well said, Cain!¡± said Dearg, ¡°oh, look at those forearms! Not an ordinary traveler I see!¡±


    Cain¡¯s arms were smaller than Dearg¡¯s or Bogram¡¯s, but his muscle indentation proved he trained his arms.


    Cain just smiled. He put his elbow on the board and took Rugo¡¯s hand. Rugo¡¯s hand was bigger than Cain¡¯s.


    Rugo and Cain gripped each other hands.


    ¡°Hoo?¡± Rugo was surprised a bit, followed by a grin after. ¡°His grip is stronger than yours,¡± he sneered at Bogram and Dearg.


    ¡°No frickin¡¯ way!¡± responded Bogram.


    ¡°Hila,¡± said Dearg at the woman bodyguard.


    Hila nodded then went closer to the board, she was the one who led the previous match.


    The bodyguards made another bet.


    ¡°Are you both ready?¡± shouted Hila.


    Both Cain and Rugo nodded.


    ¡°Leeeeets¡­ wreck it!¡± Hila smacked the board.


    Rugo went aggressive from the start, he pushed Cain¡¯s hand, half to his win. Rugo¡¯s pressure was constant and stable, but Cain little by little pushed Rugo¡¯s hand towards the opposite.


    ¡°What a strength!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Good! A strong arm!¡± shouted Rugo.


    Bogram and Dearg were wide-eyed when they saw Cain pushed back Rugo¡¯s hand. They knew very well how strong Rugo¡¯s arm was. The hands now on Cain¡¯s side.


    The crowd was getting more excited.


    Rugo pushed back Cain¡¯s hand, now the position was in the middle.


    ¡°This is interesting!¡± said Rugo, ¡°great focus and concentration, Cain! But how about this!¡±


    Rugo added more pressure. But their hands were not moving at all.


    ¡°Whoaa!? What is that!?¡± shouted one of the bodyguards when he saw the ground around Cain¡¯s feet cracked.


    ¡°You channeled my pressure to your feet? Impressive!¡± Rugo grinned.


    ¡°Not only that!¡± said Cain. It was Cain¡¯s counter, he also put more pressure. But Rugo just did what Cain did, he channeled Cain¡¯s pressure to his feet. The ground around Rugo also cracked.


    Rugo and Cain grinned at each other.


    ¡°How the heck this man last this long!?¡± shouted Bogram. ¡°And to think this man is actually quite strong!¡±


    Their hands were still in the middle. It¡¯s a stalemate.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be boring to see who¡¯ll get tired first,¡± said Rugo. ¡°Left?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± responded Cain.


    With a quick movement, They released their hands, they put them on their backs while their left hand struck each other and clasped, then their elbows hit down the board without breaking it.


    They traded explosive pressure quickly.


    ¡°Whoaaaa!!!¡± the crowd cheered them.


    ¡°Did you see that!?¡± shouted Dearg at Bogram.


    ¡°I saw that! Dammit! That was fast and crazy!¡± responded Bogram.


    Cain and Rugo¡¯s hand were still in the middle, It didn''t budge since they used their left hand.


    ¡°Both your arms have the same strength! Good!¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°So are yours!¡± Cain replied.


    The hands gripped each other still. Then suddenly, the wooden board split at where their elbows took root. The board broke down and fell to the ground.


    Cain and Rugo released their hands.


    ¡°What the heck just happened!? The board broke!?¡± gasped Bogram.


    The other bodyguards were also baffled.


    ¡°What a strength!¡± responded Dearg.


    ¡°Looks like we don''t have a winner,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Yet,¡± responded Rugo with a grin.


    Cain chuckled.


    ¡°Who are you really, Cain!? To have such strength!¡± asked Dearg.


    ¡°No one, just a wandering Hunter,¡± Cain replied.


    ¡°Damn! What rank!?¡± asked Bogram.


    ¡°I¡¯m a newbie, just Aquamarine, Grass.¡±


    ¡°Newcomer!?¡± Dearg looked so surprised, ¡°well, with that kind of strength, you have an easy road ahead of you, Cain.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Dearg.¡±


    ¡°And you too, Rugo!¡± said Bogram, ¡°you¡¯re freaking strong!¡±


    ¡°I am, fierce and strong, you said yourself,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Damn right!¡± said Bogram.


    ¡°Now, lets drink!¡± exclaimed Dearg.


    ¡°Yeaaahhh!!!¡± shouted the bodyguards.


    ¡°Sorry, skip! I don''t drink,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°What the f¡­ are you a man, Cain!?¡± responded Bogram, ¡°ah whatever! How ¡®bout you?¡± Bogram looked at Rugo.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how good your liquor is!¡± Rugo seemed excited.


    ¡°That¡¯s the answer I like!¡± exclaimed Bogram.


    They enjoyed the night with a friendly moasrahn company. Cain only briefly sat with them, he went back to Ogen who yawned while holding Beil. After he handed Beil back to Cain and chatted with him for a while, Ogen went to the carriage to rest for the night. Cain took out his sleeping bag, then put Beil on it near the bonfire.


    Cain looked around and went to a quieter place, he did some light sets of push up and sit up under the stars. After a cool down, he went back to the bonfire. He sat down and took a wet cloth to wipe his upper body while watching the bodyguards getting drunk. Bogram and Dearg were about to pass out, they kept trying to keep their balance but failed, they challenged Rugo again Cain thought, Rugo was still sober as he had another sip, he was the last man standing among the passed out bodyguards. Cain smiled as he wore his shirt again.


    Cain saw a pair of bodyguards that walked around the camp. They were on night duty ordered by Dearg earlier.


    Cain sat beside Beil and looked at the otter who curled up in his sleep. Then he took out Higa¡¯s book and started drawing Beil. But what he just drew was an unrecognizable furry thing with a bandana on it. He just shrugged and put the book back to the bag. He stared the stars for a while then finally yawned. He looked over Rugo who was standing around the passed out bodyguards, Rugo stretched his body, he was done with the liquor. Then Rugo sat down and had his back on a barrel, with crossed arms, he closed his eyes.


    Cain just chuckled and then he lay down on the sleeping bag next to Beil. The night was quiet, the sizzling and crackling from the bonfire accompanied Cain, with that, he fell asleep.

 Chapter 45 - Crossroad

    In the morning, the bodyguards packed sluggishly after Ogen yelled at them because they were hard to wake, hangover, another reason Cain did not drink. But unlike them, Rugo seemed fresh, no sign of headache or nausea.


    After a quick breakfast with buttered bread. The caravan rolled out.


    ¡°So, moasrahn is immune to hangover?¡± asked Ogen, he continued studying Rugo and his race. They were in the carriage.


    ¡°We¡¯re not, it¡¯s just your drink is pretty damn weak compared to what I used to have,¡± Rugo replied.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Ogen nodded a couple of times as he invaded his book with the pen. ¡°I also noticed that you¡¯re very resilient towards heat, is that moasrahn thing or is it just you?¡±


    ¡°All type of moasrahns have their own uniqueness, just like crocodile moasrahns, they have high cold resistance but they also don''t have weakness towards heat.¡±


    ¡°I see, how about yourself?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m more than unique,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Memeip?¡± Beil cried out to Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna tell you, Beil,¡± Rugo sneered.


    ¡°Ah! Yes! Animal tongue!¡± Ogen looked so eager. ¡°All moasrahns can do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Rugo, ¡°actually, I¡¯m more surprised that most humans can¡¯t do that, apart from those who are gifted with animal whisper talent,¡± he added.


    ¡°Animal whisper is a very rare talent for humans, to the point it just became a myth because there¡¯s no news about it since a few hundred years ago. But for moasrahns, it¡¯s actually their natural trait¡­ fascinating!¡± said Ogen, he was busy with his book and pen again.


    ¡°How far we are from Ulstena, Professor?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Ah, not that far, If my calculation is right, we¡¯ll be there in the noon,¡± Ogen replied without looking at Cain, still with his book.


    ¡°Sweet! With the data I got since yesterday, I might be able to publish a thick book! No, wait! Maybe it¡¯s better to make it two volumes! Ah, this is so exciting!¡± Ogen talked to himself, he could not contain his excitement.


    ¡°Looks like someone is sky high,¡± Rugo chuckled. ¡°What about you, Cain? What about your destination after Ulstena? I know one of them is Dragon¡¯s Pit, are there any other places as your destination?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°I actually have a must-visit list,¡± responded Cain. He took out a small thin book from his bag. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Krevias is done, Hellhound island, Nerezorth Kingdom, Libelishe Kingdom-where the Dragon¡¯s Pit is, Aurumsteel Kingdom, then Hazthala.¡±


    There was a note under Hazthala Kingdom writing, ¡®Ivela¡¯s homeland! Rainbow from flower bed?¡¯.


    ¡°And of course the biggest country of Valfikr, Gaala Oporaska Republic!¡± said Cain. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ll have to set foot on all kingdoms of Valfikr, so I¡¯ll visit all of them regardless of the list! And maybe other continents as well!¡±


    Most of Cain¡¯s destinations were inspired by the stories of Igo¡¯s experience he used to tell to the trio. His mind wandered around in the past briefly, in the forest with his two best friends and Igo, then he smiled lightly, back to present.


    ¡°Wanderlust, eh?¡± Well, it¡¯s good, travel wherever you like while you¡¯re still young!¡± said Ogen. ¡°Though I must warn you to stay away from Hellhound Island.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard what kind of place Hellhound Island is,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Is something interesting in there?¡± asked Rugo


    ¡°It¡¯s not a kind place, everything in there will try to take your life, regardless whatever your objective to set foot in there is,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°What? Why?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°There¡¯s a story of a mountainous pile of gold and such in the island. Guarded by an ancient beast from a bygone era,¡± said Cain. ¡°But the island is cursed, they said the bad smell and the horrendous landscape alone is enough to drive you mad. Many tried to raid the island, it ended with they tearing each other after a day in the island.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to go there if you know about that?¡± asked Ogen.


    ¡°Uh¡­ curiosity?¡± Cain scratched his head.


    Ogen sighed. ¡°Curiosity killed the cat, be careful,¡± said he.


    ¡°Noted,¡± Cain nodded.


    The reason Cain wanted to go there because Igo had been there. He told the trio he roamed the island for a month, without losing his mind. But neither the beast nor the gold were seen, he actually could feel an ominous presence there, but Igo couldn''t figure it out, so he just left the island alone. He also did it stealthy, so no one found out that he survived the island.


    ¡°The world is that wide, huh?¡± Rugo grinned. He was already thinking about the adventurous life he was going to live.


    They chatted on their way to Ulstena, mostly Ogen¡¯s questions and Rugo¡¯s answers.


    Then, the caravan slowed down.


    ¡°Hmm? Have we arrived?¡± asked Cain when the carriage stopped


    ¡°No, we¡¯re almost there though. But I changed my mind,¡± responded Ogen.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m going directly to Heldar University,¡± said Ogen, ¡°actually, my objective to go to Ulstena is to take a research about moasrahn from my friend, but it turned out more than I hoped for. I met the actual moasrahn and have no need to take the research.¡±


    ¡°Lucky, right?¡± Cain laughed.


    ¡°I am,¡± Ogen nodded, ¡°that¡¯s why we¡¯ll have to part ways here.¡±


    ¡°Here?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°This is a crossroad before the town, you¡¯ll reach the town by foot in twenty minutes. In fact, you already can see the town from here.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Cain and Rugo tried to look from the window but they couldn''t see anything except the meadow.


    ¡°You can¡¯t see it from this side of the window,¡± said Ogen, he opened the door and got off from the carriage.


    Cain and Rugo followed him.


    ¡°It¡¯s huge¡­ it¡¯s not a town, it¡¯s a city!¡± said Cain.


    A town stretched far on the horizon. The town, or city said Cain, had a vibrant color because of the colorful roofs. Kites and vivid-colored fishermen boats on the other side also took part to mesmerize the view.


    ¡°It stuck as town because of ¡®Beach Town¡¯,¡± said Ogen. ¡°But yeah, if we talk about scale, this is a city, the jewel of Ezilai Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s colorful, jewel indeed,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t drop you off at the town, the road to the town from here is quite bumpy, I hate going through it actually, my back feels it,¡± said Ogen.


    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said Cain, he rubbed his chin


    ¡°This will make up for that,¡± Ogen took out a rolled paper tied with a small blue ribbon. He gave it to Rugo.


    ¡°What is this?¡± asked Rugo, he took the rolled paper.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make a scene when you entered the town just as you did when we saw you yesterday,¡± said Ogen. ¡°With that paper, you¡¯ll have no hard time to explain what you are. Just give it to the guards, and they¡¯ll question you no more, it¡¯s a letter of safe passage.¡±


    ¡°Oh, this is useful, thanks!¡± Rugo stared at the rolled paper. ¡°This means you¡¯re someone important for this kingdom if you can grant me this letter,¡± said Rugo.


    Ogen just smiled at Rugo.


    ¡°One question, Professor Ogen,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°What is it, Cain?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn''t it be better if you come with us to the town? You can get more knowledge by hanging with us a little longer.¡±


    ¡°As I much as I¡¯d like that, but I shouldn''t pester you around any longer, and never underestimate the pain of your back when you¡¯re old!¡± Ogen laughed, ¡°besides, I can¡¯t wait to see my colleagues¡¯ faces when they know I met a moasrahn and see my data I¡¯ve gathered,¡± Ogen stroked his beard, he had a bit smug look on his face.


    ¡°Are they going to just believe you?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°They will, when they hear the news about a moasrahn that appears in Ulstena,¡± said Ogen with a smile.


    Rugo lightly laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve been planning this since we met, haven''t you? Really, what a great planner human is.¡±


    Ogen laughed when he heard that. Then Bogram and Dearg came to them.


    ¡°Good luck out there!¡± said Dearg.


    ¡°Next time we meet, we should have another bet!¡± said Bogram to Rugo.


    They both shook hands with Cain and Rugo.


    ¡°Thanks, Dearg,¡± said Cain.


    Rugo laughed. ¡°Sure, another bet that I¡¯ll win.¡±


    ¡°Okay then, we shall continue our way to Heldar,¡± said Ogen to Bogram and Deard. They both nodded and went back to their horses.


    ¡°If one day you¡¯re in Gleth, the Capital City of Ezilai, feel free to come to Heldar University,¡± said Ogen.


    Cain and Rugo smiled, then nodded in response.


    ¡°You too are welcome, Beil.¡±


    ¡°Memeeip!¡± responded Beil.


    Ogen turned back. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he shouted to the bodyguards. He got in to carriage, but before he closed the door, his head popped out, looking at Cain and Rugo.


    ¡°I forgot to tell you, you can use that letter all around Ezilai Kingdom,¡± said Ogen with a smile, then the carriage was slowly pulled by the horse as he closed the door.


    Cain and Rugo frowned, they were trying to digest Ogen¡¯s words.


    ¡°That means¡­¡± Rugo crossed his arms as he watched the carriage getting farther.


    ¡°All around the kingdom¡­ he gave that kind of letter to you easily, he¡¯s probably a big shot in this kingdom,¡± said Cain, ¡°perhaps a noble, or maybe even King¡¯s relative.¡±


    ¡°Well, it doesn''t matter, he gave me something useful, I¡¯ll use it without thinking too much about who he is,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°True,¡± Cain shrugged, ¡°let¡¯s go, Ulstena awaits.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Meip?¡±


    ¡°We should go there first,¡± Rugo pointed west to the meadow.


    ¡°Huh? You need to do something?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you should come too.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s moasrahn things, it¡¯s better if I show you rather than talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Hoo¡­ alright,¡± said Cain, ¡°Ulstena won''t go anywhere.¡±


    They walked to the meadow. Cain noticed two swords and an axe on Rugo¡¯s waist. ¡°(Maybe those are the bets Rugo won last night,)¡± thought Cain.


    Beil also came with them, he jumped over the grass happily. Rugo did not say a word, so did Cain as he just enjoyed the scenery around him.


    ¡°We¡¯re far enough,¡± said Rugo, he stopped after fifteen minutes of walk.


    ¡°Hmm? What are you going to do exactly?¡± said Cain. He looked at Ulstena, it¡¯s far, almost twice the distance from the crossroad. They were in the middle of the greenish yellow meadow with the sun peeked over the swimming cloud.


    ¡°How long before the town guards come here if they hear or see some ruckus over here?¡± asked Rugo. He walked around Cain.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know. If they¡¯re well-organized, less than fifteen minutes with horse, I think.¡±


    ¡°Great, I thought so, too,¡± Rugo turned at Cain. ¡°Do you remember when I told you and Ogen about how moasrahn has instinct to be the strongest or follow the strongest?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I remember that¡­ hmm¡­¡± Cain looked at Rugo with sharp eyes.


    ¡±Looks like you catch on quick,¡± said Rugo. ¡°I may not follow you after we arrive at Ulstena, but I may, who knows, your destinations seem great to follow to. The question is, are you really strong enough to be followed by me?¡±


    ¡°I get it¡­ you want a fight,¡± Cain rubbed his chin.


    Rugo grinned, as if he said ¡°damn right!¡±


    Cain laughed lightly, then he also grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t know If I¡¯m strong enough to matter about your instinct or whatever, but bring it on!¡± said he, ¡°It has been a while since I have a fight!¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± responded Rugo, he tossed the swords and the axe at Cain.


    Cain hit one of the swords to the ground, it stabbed the ground along with the scabbard. Then he caught the other sword and the axe, he caught them right at the hilt then unsheathed the sword in the air, letting the scabbard fell to the ground.


    ¡°Good handling,¡± said Rugo, he walked a few steps to the side. ¡°I know why Varestaz broke.¡± he continued.


    ¡°Oh? You know?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°After that arm wrestling, I can still feel it, though barely,¡± Rugo looked at his right palm in front of him. ¡°Your energy output is insane, that¡¯s why Varestaz broke, it couldn¡¯t hold your explosive output.¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s true,¡± Cain smiled. ¡°(Don¡¯t tell me that was his goal to arm wrestle with me!?)¡± thought he.


    ¡°Well, I gave you weapons, don¡¯t say I¡¯m unfair,¡± said Rugo. ¡°But, I¡¯m sure even without weapons you have something up your sleeves.¡±


    Cain just shrugged.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wait no more,¡± said Rugo, after he put down his crossbow and khukris, he kneeled on one knee then touched the ground with his right palm.


    Suddenly, a loud boom aired through the meadow with a little tremor that quickly went away. Then, another, louder boom aired.


    ¡°Memeeip!¡± Beil crawled on Cain¡¯s feet.


    ¡°What are you doing!?¡± exclaimed Cain.


    Rugo stood up and dusted off his hands. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure the guards in the town are alerted. We must settle this before they come here.¡±


    Rugo clasped his hands in front of his chest. ¡°Thoars ha Jugrav,¡± said he. Then he took a stance as he pulled out his claws. ¡°Come, Cain! Just like you said, in less than fifteen minutes the guards will come! So, don¡¯t hold back!¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t! Not after you alarmed the town guards! Beil, take some distance!¡± Cain took a stance with the sword on right hand and the axe on left hand, they were pointed at Rugo.


    Beil ran away from them, he climbed a large stone and watched them.


    ¡°(To think he used a way to force his opponent to use full power from the start, what an interesting guy! No matter, I¡¯ll assess the situation first before go all out!)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me, Cain!¡± shouted Rugo. He dashed straight towards Cain.

 Chapter 46 - A Quick Showdown

    ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me, Cain!¡± shouted Rugo. He dashed straight towards Cain.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try not to!¡± Cain grinned. He threw the axe into the air and casted triple-layered waves of raging water at Rugo with his left hand.


    Rugo ran faster and just rammed his body towards the waves, then he spun when he was inside the water. The water splashed all over the ground. No damage was done to Rugo¡¯s body. After he spun, Rugo leaped towards Cain with his claws, ready to rip the human in front of him apart.


    Cain reacted with an upward slash, but Rugo was fast, he deflected the sword to the side and headbutted Cain on the forehead.


    ¡°Guh!!¡± Cain gritted his teeth, then he retaliated with landing a somersault kick to Rugo¡¯s jaw.


    ¡°Grh!¡± Rugo did not expect that.


    Cain landed then dashed towards Rugo with a fist charged on his waist. Rugo was ready to counter that punch, but suddenly Cain jumped along with pebbles and rocks from the ground. His left hand reached the air and caught the axe he threw earlier. As he caught the axe, the pebbles and rocks that jumped along with him started gathering on the steel of the axe, forming a great axe of stone. Cain swung the axe down


    Rugo grinned, he destroyed the great axe by swinging his forearm at it. Then he kicked Cain with high back kick. Vulnerable in the air, Cain had no choice but to defend by crossing his arms. He was thrown by the kick but he landed safely on the ground.


    Now he had a good distance, with a swift swing Cain unleashed Wind Guillotine. He also rapid-fired lightning bolts and earth stakes.


    Rugo countered with his claws, a swing from his sharp claws stopped the invisible wave, then with ease, he deflected the lightning bolts and the earth stakes with the back of his hands. The ground around him exploded and stabbed by Cain¡¯s magic he deflected.


    Cain wanted to unleash another barrage of attacks, but the sword he held broke apart into pieces. With a sigh, he just dropped the sword hilt to the ground.


    ¡°You¡¯re proficient in combat and magic, huh? But you¡¯re not taking this fight seriously, you are holding back,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°You think so?¡± Cain replied, ¡°(water, earth and lightning magic aren''t effective against him, and fire should gives no effect too if I think about yesterday,)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°I am a seasoned warrior, that invisible slash was totally a lot weaker compared to what I saw when we were fighting the beast horde,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°True¡­ I was thinking from the moment we started fighting, you are clearly immune to magic,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You thought right,¡± Rugo laughed, ¡°let me give you a clue then, I¡¯m not really immune, but magic gives little effect on me, especially elemental magic,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°What!? That¡¯s cheating! Wait, shouldn''t you keep it to yourself!?¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Well, I already know your secret about skill-using consequences to the weapons you wield. It¡¯ll be fair to share mine too,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Not really a secret but... fair enough.¡±


    ¡°Come, show me what you have on your sleeves! The clock is ticking!¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°(What should I hit him with? There are various types of techniques from Gomara, but I simply can''t try them one by one with this limited time! And that claws! If I try to fight him with just martial arts technique and close quarter combat, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s gonna be messy!)¡± thought he.


    Cain glanced at the sword he stabbed on the ground. ¡°(Ugh¡­ that won''t do!)¡±


    ¡°Oh well, Don¡¯t really have time to test things out, huh?¡± Cain took off his coat and his left glove, he threw them far.


    Blue flame was blazing on the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone. Cain¡¯s expression showed pain. The flame spread up to his forearm.


    ¡°Hm? Blue flame?¡± Rugo watched the flame on Cain¡¯s hand.


    Suddenly, the flame rose up to Cain¡¯s shoulder. Raging on his left arm, the flame burned his left sleeve, but he still felt no heat from the flame.


    ¡°Whoa, whoa! What!?¡± Cain panicked, his entire left arm was enveloped by azure flame.


    The flame slowly diminished as the pain went away, revealing the Azure Bone Gauntlet. It covered Cain¡¯s entire left arm now, not just his forearm. It had a bit different form from when the last time Cain used it, it looked more dynamic and had more layered bones that tightly locked onto Cain¡¯s arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s different¡­¡± said Cain as he looked at the Gauntlet. ¡°It evolved?¡±


    ¡°Is that your trump card?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± mumbled Cain, then he felt a vibration from his waist bag where he put the Book of Gomara. ¡°(Yeah, it evolved¡­ does that mean I¡¯m getting stronger? The book says its power grows depending on its user after all?)¡±


    ¡°Well then, let me taste what you have!¡± exclaimed Rugo.


    ¡°Alright! You asked for it!¡± shouted Cain. ¡°(Let¡¯s see if this azure flame can do something about his magic resistance!)¡± thought he.


    Cain casted a fiery blue firebolt that blazingly went straight towards Rugo. The firebolt was as big as Cain¡¯s head.


    ¡°Magic?¡± Rugo took a step forward and put his right palm towards the firebolt. ¡°It¡¯s futil-!¡±


    Rugo wanted to stop the firebolt with his hand, but as soon as the firebolt came close to his hand just about twice his arm¡¯s reach, Rugo instinctively retracted his hand and dodged to the side, the firebolt grazed his hand a bit.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°(What is this!? This feeling¡­ I haven''t felt something like this since my last spar with Elder Bilvrast!)¡± thought Rugo, he looked at his hand, the area where it got grazed was burned.


    Then, a massive explosion flashed behind him.


    With a thunderous sound, the firebolt blew the ground far behind Rugo. The sound was three times louder than Rugo¡¯s technique he used to alert the guards at Ulstena.


    That was actually not just an ordinary firebolt that could be casted by anyone who practiced basic fire elemental magic. But it was a condensed wind sphere that was enveloped by a raging fire, Gomara named it Vlama¡¯s Spit.


    Vlama was the name of a Grand Dragon who had a powerful fire breath, so powerful that even her spit could melt a reinforced iron.


    Cain himself was aghast because the damage should not be that powerful. He realized Vlama¡¯s Spit became stronger because azure flame empowered it just like when he used Scorching Lightning Canines back in Krevias.


    ¡°This is surprising!¡± exclaimed Rugo, ¡°Your blue flame bypassed my magic resistance!¡± he looked very excited.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised too!¡± Cain laughed.


    ¡°This is great! Let¡¯s get serious, then!¡± said Rugo.


    He raised his right hand to the air, a red light flashed from his right palm, he grabbed the light and pulled it down fast. Then, a shockwave blasted around him.


    The wind quickly swept the dust away, revealing the ground around Rugo was cracked. Rugo just stood there. The brown cloth on Rugo¡¯s waist and his whiskers were fluttering wildly, as if there was a vortex of wind around him.


    ¡°!!!¡± Cain suddenly took a stance.


    ¡°Hoo? You can feel it?¡± said Rugo. ¡°Your sense is stronger than I thought.¡±


    ¡°With that kind of intimidating aura that leaking around you? Of course!¡± responded Cain.


    Rugo chuckled. ¡°You have that yourself! That ominous and intimidating aura around that bone arm!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called Azure Bone Gauntlet,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Azure?... I think I¡¯ve heard that before¡­ ah nevermind that now,¡± said Rugo. ¡°Well, because you told me that, then I¡¯ll tell you what I have released, it¡¯s Reaver magic.¡±


    ¡°Reaver Magic!? That double-edged magic!? Why are you using that magic!? Isn''t that shortening your lifespan!?¡±


    ¡°True, but do you think it¡¯s a good time to chat?¡± said Rugo as he jumped high to the air, then he kicked the air as if there were a foothold, he dashed downwards while spinning.


    Cain took a defensive stance. When they clashed, between Rugo¡¯s claws and Cain¡¯s Gauntlet, the ground around them shook so hard. Cain¡¯s feet were half buried because Rugo¡¯s power, the ground around him also web-cracked.


    ¡°(What is this strength!? And this speed!? His power has increased at least five times!)¡± thought Cain, he gritted his teeth.


    Azure Bone Gauntlet¡¯s ability repelled Rugo¡¯s claws after he pushed Cain.


    ¡°(Hrrh!? He repelled my attack this easy!?)¡± thought Rugo, he jumped back.


    ¡°You¡¯re strong!¡± Cain grinned.


    ¡°So are you! I only use Reaver magic when I spar with Elder Bilvrast, even my brother won¡¯t fight me if I use this magic,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Is this your first fight against a human?¡± Cain dashed towards Rugo.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Rugo also dashed towards Cain. ¡°There were plenty of morons tried to hunt down Hoarts! They weren¡¯t even worthy for my claws!¡±


    They traded blows, Cain landed a kick on Rugo¡¯s chest, Rugo countered with a punch to Cain¡¯s face.


    Cain clenched his fist, he unleashed Shattering Fist with the Gauntlet. Rugo managed to defend against it but he was pushed back.


    ¡°(What a punch!)¡± thought Rugo. He swung down both his hands, sending eight red waves from his claws towards Cain.


    Cain stepped hard on the ground with his left foot. A large and thick stone wall emerged from the ground. Even though the stone wall looked solid, it was nothing when the waves cut through it, Cain jumped to avoid them.


    But Rugo was also in the air, in front of Cain to be precise. He spun with incredible speed, a red streak sparked around his right foot. Cain put his guard up with the flame-wrapped Azure Bone Gauntlet.


    Rugo¡¯s right foot clashed with the Gauntlet, the ground behind Cain trembled and cracked because of the wave of Rugo¡¯s kick.


    Rugo kicked the Gauntlet with a force that threw Cain, but Cain managed to regain his balance before he crashed on the ground.


    Rugo also landed, he looked at his right foot that was burned by the flame. ¡°(That azure flame is painful! My foot is burning hot! and that Gauntlet¡­ I feel like I just hit layers of hardened steel!)¡±


    Cain looked at his Gauntlet, the Gauntlet was cracked, not a small crack, but the crack spread around the forearm, even Cain questioned himself why the Gauntlet was still wrapping his forearm, it should have been broke apart.


    ¡°(What a strong kick! It bypassed the Gauntlet¡¯s repel ability! Even my forearm is feeling it!)¡± thought Cain, he could feel his left forearm was throbbing because of the kick. ¡°(So this is the power of Reaver magic? A magic that uses the user¡¯s lifespan to enhance his ability beyond the limit! Ugh, thankfully the Gauntlet absorbed most of the impact, otherwise I can¡¯t imagine what would happen to my forearm bones!)¡±


    Azure flame blazed from the cracks on the Gauntlet. The flame burned the Gauntlet anew.


    ¡°That flame¡­ repaired the Gauntlet!?¡± Rugo was surprised, followed by a laugh, ¡°outside world is really interesting!¡±


    ¡°Indeed! This is thrilling!¡± Cain also fired up, he took a stance.


    ¡°Hold it,¡± said Rugo, he gazed towards Ulstena then chuckled. ¡°As much as I want to continue, looks like our time is up.¡±


    A cloud of dust was coming towards them, it was moving fast.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Cain also looked at the dust cloud, ¡°too bad.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you enjoyed the fight!¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m always down for a good fight!¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear!¡± said Rugo, he closed his eyes, as he exhaled a long breathe, a warm wind breezed around him. His ferocious aura was no longer there.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to go!¡± Cain took his coat and glove. Beil ran towards them.


    Rugo took his knives and crossbow.


    ¡°You know, if you want to come with me you don''t have to see me like I¡¯m your leader or something, Rugo.¡± said Cain. ¡°You know¡­ ah, how do I say that, like if you watch my back, I watch yours.¡±


    The Gauntlet turned back into a Bracelet.


    ¡°...¡± Rugo looked at Cain. ¡°You mean you don¡¯t want to set up a hierarchy? You want us to be equals?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ yeah, something like that, you disagree?¡± said Cain.


    Rugo chuckled. ¡°I see, I see,¡± then he laughed. ¡°I thought I was open minded already! Hahah!¡±


    ¡°Meip?¡± Beil looked at Cain. Cain just shrugged at Beil.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, that¡¯ll do,¡± said Rugo, ¡°besides, you have proven your strength.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ so?¡±


    ¡°Alright, Cain, equals!¡± said Rugo. ¡°I¡¯m no longer in a moasrahn kingdom or territory that highly upholds hierarchy even in a very small circle, I¡¯ll have to be as flexible as I can now.¡±


    Cain nodded in response. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said he. But before they depart for Ulstena, Cain gave Rugo a small jar of poultice he made from Gomara¡¯s recipe when he was making the Poison Reserver Potion. It helped relieving the inflammation caused by Cain¡¯s azure flame on Rugo¡¯s leg and arm.


    ¡°I have my own remedy, but I¡¯ll take it anyway, thanks,¡± said Rugo while applying the poultice on his leg.


    ¡°Sorry about your fur,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll grow back in a day,¡± responded Rugo. ¡°Moasrahn is awesome more than you know,¡± Rugo smirked.


    They left the area, with their speed and skill to cover their tracks, the guards couldn¡¯t find where they went. They only found what the battle did to the meadow, a mess.

 Chapter 47 - Ulstena Town

    Cain and Rugo went around the meadow, they went for south entrance of the town.


    As Ogen had expected, the people of small housing complex before the town entrance were aghast when they saw Rugo. Some were amazed, but most of them were cautious. As Cain and Rugo walked casually on the street to the town entrance, they became the center of attention.


    The town itself was protected by a tall stone wall, with taller towers for a better view for the guards. There were a lot of people using this entrance, carts, Hunters, and even heavily armed wagons passed through this huge gate. All of them were inspected before they could enter the town.


    The guards on the entrance gate pointed their spears immediately when they saw Rugo and Cain, mostly they stared at Rugo. But after Cain and Rugo briefly explained who they were and showed them the letter of safe passage from Ogen, the guards instantly changed their attitude, they even bowed to Rugo and apologized to him, then they warmly welcomed Cain and Rugo to Ulstena.


    The guards offered a carriage to ride around the town, but Cain and Rugo refused, they wanted to enjoy the town slowly. And Rugo especially wanted to see the reaction of the people which would be hard if he was inside the carriage.


    They walked in the colorful town. The town was dominated by two stories buildings, the street was quite wide, and it was easy to walk as the street was well laid out with well worked ashlar stones.


    Rugo walked proudly, the passersby were surprised to see the jagupard. Some frowned, some were amazed. Rugo was excited because this was his first visit to human¡¯s settlement, he tried to contain his excitement.


    ¡°You¡¯re not disturbed by those eyes?¡± asked Cain, he was also excited for the town.


    ¡°A bit, but it¡¯s an important task for my people¡¯s future, so just being stared at is not a problem,¡± responded Rugo with a calm tone, but contrast to his calm words, he was grinning. ¡°So, where are we going? Surely we won¡¯t spend the time just roaming the town, right?¡± he continued.


    ¡°First, I¡¯d like to eat something good for lunch, then I¡¯ll go to Hunter Guild in this town, how ¡®bout you? You want to go somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know, your society is still alien to me, I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s eat there,¡± Cain pointed an outdoor restaurant with plenty round tables.


    People¡¯s reaction in the restaurant were no different from when Cain and Rugo walked down the street. They sat casually on one table, then one waitress came to them with two mugs of fresh water she put on their table. She was in her twenties, quite tall with the brown boots she wore.


    ¡°Err, hi! What do you want to order?¡± said the waitress to Cain. She was tense, she glanced a couple of times at Rugo.


    ¡°Please relax, human, I won¡¯t bite you,¡± said Rugo.


    The waitress covered her lips with the tip of her fingers. ¡°Oh my Goddess! It spoke!?¡± said the waitress with voice only she could hear, except Rugo, he just ignored that remark.


    Cain laughed lightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s friendly, a bit,¡± said he, ¡°and I¡¯ll have your recommendation for lunch, also for him,¡± Cain pointed at Beil who sat on his lap.


    ¡°Oi, Cain,¡± called Rugo, ¡°what can I buy with these?¡± Rugo shook two small coin pouches hanging on his fingers, the coins inside were jingling. Those were the coins he won from the arm wrestling.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don''t know the exact amount, but if I have to guess... normally, it could feed you for half a month or less, normal food that is, nothing fancy,¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°I counted last night, 85 coins,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Yep, it¡¯ll be around that, but¡­ I don¡¯t know about Ezilai¡¯s average price for food,¡± said Cain.


    Then they looked at the waitress.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ if it¡¯s 85 Fuls, it¡¯ll last for nine or ten days with three simple meals a day, though it depends on where you¡¯ll eat. In fancier place 85 Fuls could give you just with two or three days worth of food,¡± said the waitress.


    ¡°There you have it, 8 to 9 Fuls per day with simple meals, it¡¯s a little higher than Krevias I think,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°I see¡­ then, because this is my first time in human town, I want something fancy,¡± said Rugo, ¡°give me some good meat!¡± he exclaimed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about lodging, don¡¯t just blow your money on food,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Memeip!¡± Beil seemed to agree.


    ¡°I can sleep anywhere, no problem,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Are you sure? This is your first time in human town, do you really want to sleep in the street or some dark alley? Or even on a tree?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Hrrh¡­ you¡¯re right, how much for lodging?¡± Rugo asked Cain.


    Cain shrugged. Then they looked again at the waitress.


    ¡°Err¡­ well, if it¡¯s a cheap inn you can stay for two nights with 20 to 30 Fuls,¡± she answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Alright! I want meat! 30 Fuls worth!¡± said Rugo.


    Cain wanted to warn Rugo about money management, but then, he remembered how much Rugo ate last night. He just sighed.


    ¡°Okay, your food will come in ten minutes,¡± said the waitress. Then she leaned a bit towards Cain and Rugo. ¡°If you want, I can tell you later where the cheap inns with a nice view and clean rooms in the town are,¡± whispered the waitress.


    Cain and Rugo looked at each other, then to the waitress.


    ¡°Are you sure? Why?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°You said this is your first time in human town, let¡¯s just say this is Ulstena town¡¯s courtesy,¡± said the waitress, ¡°and no offense, I thought you¡¯re savage with how you look! But you¡¯re actually nice!¡±


    ¡°Oh, he is actually savage,¡± Cain smirked.


    Rugo laughed. ¡°I see! That¡¯s a good reaction! Well, another evaluation for my task.¡± Rugo stood up and held out his hand towards the waitress. ¡°I am a moasrahn, my name is Rugo, this is how humans introduce themselves, right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Shenie, a human,¡± she giggled as she shook her hand with Rugo¡¯s.


    Cain also introduced himself and Beil to Shenie before she went to tell the cook their orders.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Before they realized, a small crowd was formed in front of the restaurant. Shenie realized the crowd was curious about Rugo.


    She came to the crowd with her arms on her waist and imposing a tough look. ¡°Guys, if you don¡¯t want to order some food, don¡¯t stand here, you¡¯re blocking the way!¡± she exclaimed. Then someone asked about what Rugo was. ¡°He¡¯s a moasrahn, now please, don¡¯t bother our customers,¡±


    Some people left after they were satisfied with the answer, few chose to still look at Rugo but from a bit farther.


    Rugo nodded in gratitude at Shenie who walked by their table. She replied with a smile. Although Rugo wasn''t really bothered about the crowd, but he had to appreciate Shenie¡¯s effort.


    A few minutes later, their food came. Cain had a plate of yellow sweet fried rice with fried calamari, also with an extra portion for Beil. And Rugo, he got two bowls of buffalo ribs, one grilled and one drenched with red sauce.


    ¡°This smells good!¡± said Cain, Rugo on the other hand was already eating them. Cain just shrugged and ate his food with Beil.


    In just a few minutes, Rugo¡¯s two bowls were already empty. ¡°Not bad, better than what we had at the camp,¡± he licked his fingers, ¡°but the quantity, that¡¯s what lacking, the portion is just what moasrahn kids would have.¡±


    ¡°Seriously!?¡± Cain was surprised, ¡°ah, nevermind, moasrahn is amazing in so many ways.¡±


    Rugo chuckled. ¡°We are,¡± he drank from the mug. ¡°By the way, I think I know what I should do first.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Income, I need to make money,¡± said Rugo, he crossed his arms while leaning on the chair. His tail hung above the floor. ¡°Do you have any recommendation?¡±


    ¡°Merchant? Nah, it won¡¯t suit you,¡± said Cain, ¡°bodyguard? Like Bogram and Dearg? Mercenary?¡±


    ¡°Bodyguard and mercenary mean I¡¯ll have to take order from who employs me? Out of the question, I¡¯ll lose my face if the elders know I become someone¡¯s lackey, worse, human¡¯s lackey, no offense, Cain,¡± Rugo smirked.


    ¡°None taken,¡± responded Cain, ¡°well, there¡¯s Hunter.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, that, I read about Hunter Guild. You yourself is a Hunter, right? Wait, you have those high quality diamonds, from your Hunter¡¯s job?¡±


    ¡°I am a Hunter, but those diamonds weren''t from Hunter¡¯s job, but a prize from my adventure!¡± Cain answered, a smug look on his face.


    ¡°Oho? Sounds interesting, do tell,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Perhaps another time, I want to go to Hunter Guild first.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± said Rugo, ¡°let¡¯s see if they¡¯ll accept a moasrahn as their member.¡±


    ¡°Huh? You want to join?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who suggested it!¡±


    ¡°Ah well¡­ yeah, right, let¡¯s see if they¡¯ll accept you, I want to know too,¡± Cain rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Come on, finish your food, you eat like a sloth,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who ate too fast!¡±


    ¡­


    Cain asked Shenie where the Hunter Guild in the town was. She told him the Guild was a bit far, it was in the beach direction, but they had no problem with it. She also told them where the cheap inns were, fortunately, one of them was near the Guild area. After they paid the food, they went to the Guild.


    They strolled the town, admiring the view and the liveness of the town. As they walked closer to the Guild direction, the breeze from the sea found its way to them.


    ¡°This wind,  just like when we were in Grock Bay! Freshness!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Meip!¡± Beil seemed to agree.


    Rugo was grinning widely, Cain could tell he was excited about the sea.


    ¡°Hmm? I think that¡¯s the Guild,¡± said Cain. He looked over a building with many armed people hanging near the wide door. The building had a wooden plank, ¡®Hunter¡¯s Picnic¡¯ was written there.


    Cain and Rugo walked there. The people there were inspecting them with suspicious and alerted eyes.


    Rugo stared at one of the Hunters as he and Cain entered the building, with sharp eyes, Rugo grinned. But the Hunter wasn¡¯t fazed, he kept his composure, not intimidated, he stared back.


    ¡°Some of them are truly experienced, I can tell by their glances,¡± said Rugo as he and Cain passed the door.


    ¡°Hunter Guild has been here for hundreds of years, of course there will be veterans,¡± responded Cain.


    Inside the building, the eyes of the Hunters were on them. They just walked to the administration desk. Beil followed next to them.


    ¡°Oh, wow! Look at that!¡± said a woman behind the desk, she was in her mid fifties, ¡°a moasrahn, I see,¡± she continued.


    ¡°Hoo? You know what I am? Interesting,¡± said Rugo.


    Hearing the remarks between the woman and Rugo, the Hunters became curious.


    The woman smiled. ¡°So, your race isn''t extinct, huh?¡± said the woman calmly.


    ¡°We¡¯re rebuilding, don¡¯t worry,¡± Rugo grinned.


    ¡°I see¡­ good to hear that,¡± said the woman. ¡°So? What do you need of Hunter Guild? You need us to help your race? Though if I remember correctly from the history books your race is kinda closed to other races.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, help, I need money, he said Hunter Guild is a good place to get income,¡± Rugo pointed at Cain.


    ¡°He wants to join,¡± said Cain to the woman.


    ¡°Is that so? A moasrahn wants to join Hunter Guild? You need money?¡± said the woman.


    ¡°Yeah, I need human¡¯s currency,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°This is interesting,¡± the woman rested her right hand on her chin, ¡°wait here, I¡¯ll talk to my superior first.¡±


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Not really a problem, but if the Guild says you can join,¡± the woman looked at Rugo, ¡°you¡¯re going to be the first non-human to join Hunter Guild. This is going to be written in Hunter Guild¡¯s history.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see¡­ this is indeed will be a history for Hunter Guild,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°By the way, the name¡¯s Telia,¡± said the woman.


    Cain and Rugo introduced themselves to Telia, after that, Telia went to the back to tell her superior.


    Five minutes had passed when Telia came out, followed by a man, as old as her.


    ¡°Holy Goddess, a moasrahn!¡± said the man in surprise, ¡°ah, forgive me, my name is Nelcauf, I am in charge of all Hunters in Ulstena.¡±


    Cain and Rugo shook hands with him and introduced themselves.


    ¡°This is surprising, moasrahn, huh?¡± said Nelcauf.


    ¡°So, can he join?¡± asked Cain.


    Nelcauf sighed when the question came out. ¡°Truth is, this is too big for me to decide,¡± he said.


    ¡°What do you mean? You said you¡¯re in charge?¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°I am, but this, I can¡¯t take the decision,¡± said Nelcauf, ¡°but worry not, two high ranking Hunters who have higher authorities are in Gleth, I¡¯ll inform them today, and I expect they¡¯ll come here tomorrow, they¡¯ll decide about your appliance.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, huh? No problem,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Yes, you can come here after lunch, I¡¯m sure Mr. and Mrs. Rive will be here by then,¡± said Nelcauf.


    When Nelcauf said the name, the Hunters there were surprised.


    ¡°Rive? The famous duo? The Slayers of Mercury Titanoboa!?¡±


    ¡°Whoaa!? They¡¯ll come here!?¡±


    ¡°Damn, I have to see them!¡±


    Voices in the background.


    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re famous,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°They are,¡± said Nelcauf with a smile.


    ¡°Okay then, we¡¯ll be back here tomorrow,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to join, too? You can join right away,¡± said Nelcauf to Cain.


    ¡°I¡¯m already a Hunter.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I¡¯ve never seen you before, are you a Hunter from other country?¡± asked Nelcauf.


    Telia also expressed her curiousness.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a wandering Hunter from north,¡± replied Cain.


    ¡°North?¡± responded Nelcauf.


    ¡°Arozora,¡± said Cain, ¡°and don¡¯t bother asking about rank, I¡¯m an Aquamarine Hunter,¡± Cain laughed lightly.


    Nelcauf just smiled and nodded, then he excused himself to continue his works.


    Cain proceed to the quest board, he was looking to the quest he might do. After all, he had to do quests to increase his rank for higher rewards from harder quests.


    Rugo on the other hand was talking with Telia about Hunter Guild. He asked all about the Guild and the registration process.


    Cain looked over the board, but he sighed, all the quests his rank could do were too simple, like help fixing the roof, clean the sewers and so on. He even shook his head when he saw the rewards the quest giver offered for such a simple quest, couldn''t even buy a nice set of meal.


    Cain just shrugged. ¡°Oh well, maybe later,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the beach, are you coming?¡± said Cain as he walked over Rugo and Telia.


    ¡°Oh yeah, of course!¡± responded Rugo. ¡°See you tomorrow, madam!¡± he said to Telia.


    Telia bowed and smiled at them.

 Chapter 48 - Mr. and Mrs. Rive, The Slayers of Mercury Titanoboa

    Cain and Rugo went to the beach, about twenty minutes of walk from the Guild. They had to pass through the north gate and a calming housing complex to reach the beach.


    The cool wind blew over them when they arrived. The beach had a beautiful white sand with sweet sound of the waves lingering on the scene. The beach was so wide, there were people here and there.


    ¡°Whoaaa! What a view!¡± said Rugo, ¡°so this is beach!¡±


    Rugo stepped on the sand, his forward foot immediately half-sank because of his weight. ¡°Ah, this is why it¡¯s hard to run on the sand!¡± Rugo was excited.


    ¡°Memeeip!¡± Beil ran over the sand towards the water.


    ¡°Ah, yes! The waves!¡± Rugo walked to the water, he struggled a couple of steps, but he quickly adapted moving his weight over the sand.


    Beil ran around the shore happily.


    Rugo slowly walked over the water, small waves crashed against his knees. ¡°So, this is beach, huh?¡± said Rugo, then he leaped into the water. A big splash fell around him.


    ¡°Does he know the water is salty?¡± mumbled Cain as he walked to the shore.


    There were kites in the sky, played by some kids around the beach. A couple of small boats were sailing in the horizon. A group of people walked past him, they spoke foreign tongue.


    ¡°Tourists, huh? Just as I am,¡± said Cain with voice only he could hear.


    ¡°Ghuaahh!¡± Rugo emerged from the water. ¡°The water is saltier than I thought!¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fish pee,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Haha, funny,¡± said Rugo with a flat expression, ¡°but wait, hmm¡­ if I think about it¡­ ah nevermind!¡± responded Rugo.


    Cain laughed lightly, then he stared into the sea. ¡°How fast can you swim, Rugo?¡±


    ¡°Is that a challenge?¡± Rugo grinned.


    Cain also grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s race!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! But no magic allowed! Only your pure muscle strength and breathing technique!¡± exclaimed Rugo.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Cain undressed, leaving only his trouser.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ elemental magic is convenient, huh?¡± said Rugo when he saw Cain buried his stuff on the sand with his magic. ¡°Bury mine too,¡± he said.


    Cain also buried Rugo¡¯s khukris and crossbow after Rugo wrapped them with a cloth.


    They stood next to each other, looking at the blue horizon.


    ¡°What¡¯s the finish line?¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ what about that boat over there?¡± Cain pointed to a small, distant boat with a white folded sail.


    ¡°I see it, ready?¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°On three!¡± replied Cain.


    They raced to the boat, Cain had a better start, but Rugo caught up fast. Their race was tight, they used all their strength to get to the boat.


    ¡°Huh? What is that?¡± said the man on the boat, ¡°it¡¯s coming here!?¡± he was startled.


    Cain and Rugo position was tied, they swam with high speed, making the water splashing around, they alerted the man on the boat.


    ¡°Aahh!!!¡± the man in boat curled in fear when Cain and Rugo came to the boat. But they submerged beneath the boat.


    Then they emerged from the water not far from the boat.


    ¡°Hah! I win!¡± exclaimed Rugo.


    ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s my win!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? My arm is longer! Obviously I reached the boat first!¡± Rugo showed his arm¡¯s reach.


    ¡°I was closer to the boat than your!¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Oh really? Let¡¯s ask that man!¡± Rugo pointed to the man in the boat that puzzled with a mixed-up look on his face.


    ¡°A jaguar? Talking?¡± said the man in confusion.


    Rugo sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s just make it another tie,¡± he said.


    Cain laughed. ¡°Alright,¡± he responded.


    After the race Cain and Beil sat down in the shore, relaxing. Rugo was swimming around the beach, surprising a lot of people, but Rugo handled it very well. He politely introduced himself, diminishing his fierce look by doing so. He mingled with humans easily.


    When the sky went dark, they went out looking for the street food for dinner. After that, they went to one of the cheap inns Shenie talked about. They rented a room with two beds, because it was cheaper than two single bed rooms.


    Cain read the Book of Gomara before he went to bed, he confirmed the evolution of the Gauntlet from the book. Not much information about the evolution, other than the book said the Gauntlet still had so many rooms to evolve.


    Rugo also slept after he polished his khukris.


    ¡­


    In the early morning, Cain was jogging in the shore, he also felt the warmth of the first light of the sun when it rose from the horizon. He also practiced a number of water manipulation magic in the beach when there was no one around.


    When he got back to the inn, Rugo was meditating. What amazed Cain was, Rugo only used his tail to support his body. He sat cross-legged while his tail sustained his entire body in the air. Beil was sleeping on his legs. Rugo¡¯s arms crossed on his chest.


    ¡°(Oh, his fur has grown back,)¡± thought Cain, he was looking at Rugo¡¯s legs. The burn wound Cain caused yesterday was nowhere to be found.


    Then, Rugo¡¯s left eye opened. ¡°You¡¯re back, let¡¯s have some food!¡± said he.


    Beil woke up when Rugo said that aloud. ¡°Memeip!¡± he cried.


    ¡°¡®I¡¯m hungry, too¡¯ what he said,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll wipe my body first,¡± responded Cain.


    They went looking for breakfast after that. Cain and Rugo spent the morning exploring the town, but they did not explore too far from the Hunter Guild, they had appointment there after all.


    ¡°Ah yeah, Rugo, how about your Reaver magic? I¡¯m curious why you used it when you weren''t really in a pinch? Doesn¡¯t Reaver magic use the caster¡¯s life force?¡± asked Cain when they were strolling the street.


    ¡°Oh? Hahah! You find it weird?¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Yeah, as far as I know, humans who practiced it won¡¯t use it except their lives are really in danger,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Hmm, yeah, I heard from the Elders that humans also capable of learning Reaver magic,¡± Rugo greeted the passersby by waved his hand a bit, the people he greeted were baffled while returning his wave.


    ¡°Let me tell you,¡± said Rugo, ¡°the origin of Reaver magic comes from my people, it¡¯s called Reviras in my ancestors¡¯ times. Probably you humans twist how to say it but it came from moasrahn tongue. But we call it Reaver nowadays because it¡¯s easier to say.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Really? It came from moasrahn?¡± asked Cain in curiosity.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why it has a flaw when something that shouldn''t be for others is learned by others,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The original of Reaver magic isn''t fueled by the caster¡¯s life force, at some point that is,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Huh!? I¡¯ve never heard that before!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°At some point I said,¡± responded Rugo. ¡°In my people, Reaver magic is still using the caster¡¯s life force but won¡¯t suck ¡®till every last drop of your life like when you humans do it. It only takes a part of our age. Every practitioner of Reaver magic has his or her own threshold, when you hit the threshold, you no longer lose your life force when you use Reaver magic.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I broke my threshold limit a long time ago, every Reaver magic practitioner can feel how much his life force has been used. I only used about twenty years life of mine, more or less,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Ah¡­ wow¡­ that¡¯s interesting,¡± said Cain. ¡°It is a total flaw compared to what humans have to pay to use that magic then.¡± he continued.


    ¡°Yeah, the longer humans use that magic the more their life force sucked out, but the force it produces enhance the caster¡¯s power with the potential of no limit is still the same,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°I tasted that power, your power surely increased at least five times,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°That was nothing, my father blew up a mountain with his Reaver magic, at least his power was seven hundred times that time.¡±


    ¡°No kidding!?¡± gasped Cain.


    Rugo just shook his head lightly.


    Cain suddenly remembered what he read about Reaver magic in the Book of Gomara. ¡°(Ah! That¡¯s why he wrote that!)¡± he thought.


    Gomara did not put Reaver magic detailed information or how to learn the magic into his book. What Gomara wrote in the book beside the general knowledge about it was that Reaver magic was not worth the trouble he would face. But Gomara warned the successor of his book, should he or she find and fight a master of Reaver magic, go full power from the start.


    ¡°So, Reaver magic is actually a buff magic?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Rugo proudly.


    ¡°Then how about your magic resistance?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Oh, it came from my mother, she was a snow leopard moasrahn, which that type is so good with elemental magic resistance,¡± Rugo replied, ¡°and Reaver magic came from my father,¡± he continued.


    ¡°I see¡­ such a gifted child, aren''t you?¡± said Cain.


    Rugo just replied with a small laugh.


    ¡°And I see your attitude is so different from when we first met. Like you just greeted the passersby warmly, it¡¯s so different when you wanted to shoot me between the eyes in Balrth Forest,¡± said Cain.


    Rugo laughed again. ¡°It¡¯s an act, to see how they respond when I approach them with friendliness. Yesterday, I acted tough when we came to the Guild, all I could see was glare.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Ah, for your report to the Elders?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Correct,¡± said Rugo, ¡°how about you, Cain? You yourself is skilled in combat, where did that come from?¡±


    ¡°From hardwork and discipline?¡± Cain laughed, ¡°unlike you, I¡¯m not a gifted child, in fact, I used to be a talentless.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Your swordsmanship is good, no way you have no talent,¡± Rugo rubbed his chin, ¡°but I could feel it when we fought, your movement was from someone who had been training diligently.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I trained so hard¡­ I was lucky there¡¯s a book that let me learnt magic and combat abilities, you wouldn''t believe me if I told you I can¡¯t use any magic before I learn it from that book,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Book? Oh, that book¡­ really? That book can do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, as I couldn''t learn any combat abilities and magic from my teacher, the book said the otherwise.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°But unfortunately, even though magic and abilities from this book are strong, it broke the weapon I use,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Yeah, I know that.¡±


    ¡°But this,¡± Cain showed Rugo the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone. ¡°As you know any weapon I use with my combat skills will break, but this one is different,¡± Cain added.


    ¡°You said it¡¯s Azure Bone Gauntlet, right?¡± asked Rugo.


    Cain nodded in answer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the same, but there was also a mention about Azure in my people, well by my long lost ancestors,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Is it?¡± asked Cain curiously. They were still walking down the street of Ulstena town.


    ¡°The records I read was scarce, but If I remember correctly, Azure is a blue flame that has been here from the ancient times. It was one of the lost Eternal Elements. Azure flame was called Azraq in our tongue.¡±


    ¡°Azraq?... it¡¯s one of those!?¡± said Cain in surprise.


    ¡°You know about it?¡±


    ¡°I read about the Eternal Elements in the Book, one of them is called Azraq!¡± responded Cain, he took out the Book of Gomara and flipped the pages.


    Eternal Elements were elements from the past, they were unique, powerful and very rare. But suddenly they vanished since thousands years ago.


    ¡°Here¡­¡± Cain pointed a page about the Eternal Elements, of course all Rugo could see was a blank page.


    ¡°Azraq, Karmozijn, and the others I can¡¯t read¡­ Do you know what Karmozijn is?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no Karmozijn word in moasrahn tongue.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay¡­ so Azraq means Azure, from your tongue, huh? This Karmozijn and other words I can¡¯t read probably words from other races.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ that could be true,¡± responded Rugo. ¡°Your book knows about things in the ancient times, it¡¯s interesting¡­ I wonder who Gomara really is, to be able wrote all of those.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s even mysterious to human¡¯s history,¡± Cain shrugged.


    ¡°Too bad the knowledge section is invisible to me, otherwise I¡¯d like to borrow it,¡± Rugo laughed.


    ¡°Hmm? We¡¯re here,¡± said Cain when he saw the Guild.


    They arrived at the guild, it was noon. The Guild was quite packed in front of the door. Cain and Rugo made their way through the Hunters, this time, Rugo put on friendly face.


    When they entered the Guild, a man and a woman in their thirties were surrounded by Hunters. They sat and chatted casually with them. The eyes of the Hunters were sparkling with admiration.


    The woman, who had a pleasant and charming smile realized Cain and Rugo¡¯s presence, she poked the gentle-looking man beside her in the arm and pointed at Rugo with her thorough eyes.


    ¡°Ah, welcome!¡± said the man with a wide smile when he got his eyes on Cain and Rugo.


    The Hunters shifted their gazes to Cain and Rugo who were walking towards them.


    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± said the man in awe, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it when Sir Ogen said he met a moasrahn. Holy Goddess¡­ he said the truth!¡±


    ¡°You know Professor Ogen?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s in Gleth, and he told me about you two,¡± answered the man with a warm smile.


    ¡°Are you the one who¡¯ll decide about me getting into the Guild?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°They are,¡± a familiar voice came through from the crowd of Hunters, it was Nelcauf with Telia next to him. The hunters opened a path for them to pass through.


    ¡°Nelcauf! Long time no see! Telia, too!¡± greeted the woman cheerfully.


    ¡°Sorry, we couldn''t greet you earlier, we had to take care of something,¡± said Nelcauf.


    ¡°No problem!¡± the man laughed and shook hands with Nelcauf.


    Nelcauf turned to Cain and Rugo. ¡°Let me introduce them to you, they are Mr. and Mrs. Rive, Emerald rank Hunters, The Mercury Titanoboa Slayers.¡±


    Cain and Rugo introduced themselves.


    ¡°This is great, to see something that has been declared extinct still alive and well!¡± said Mr. Rive.


    ¡°Indeed, by the way let¡¯s move to the office to talk about Rugo joining the Guild,¡± said Telia to them.


    Mr. Rive nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay, guys, it¡¯s fun talking to you, work comes, we have to excuse ourselves,¡± said he to the Hunters around.


    Cain and Rugo went with The Slayers to the office, Nelcauf and Telia also went with them. It was a spacy room, decorated with old weapons and paintings in the wall. A wide desk with a pile of paperwork stood in front of large window. Two large couches were facing each other in the center, and a wooden table was in between them.


    They all sat on the couch. Beil as usual sat on Cain¡¯s lap.


    ¡°Okay, here, you can just call me Daen and my wife Halni,¡± said Mr. Rive, ¡°or whatever, you can even just call me Sir,¡± he shrugged.


    Cain nodded in response.


    ¡°Alright, without further chit chat. We accept your application to the Guild, Rugo.¡±


    ¡°Ho? That was fast,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Well, we really have no reason to refuse,¡± said Halni.


    ¡°Though, being the first moasrahn in the Guild carries a great responsibility, you¡¯ll have to become a good example for others,¡± said Daen. ¡°Who knows, maybe when your race hearing about your feats they¡¯ll come around to the society, because I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not the last of your kind.¡±


    ¡°A good example, huh?¡± Rugo rubbed his chin, ¡°and you¡¯re right, I¡¯m not the last.¡±


    ¡°Good, good!¡± Daen smiled. ¡°I pray one day humans can walk with your kind with harmony,¡± he said.


    Rugo just smiled a little.


    ¡°Now, you can go with Telia to complete your registration and become the first moasrahn in Hunter Guild,¡± said Nelcauf.


    Telia nodded at Nelcauf. ¡°This way,¡± said she to Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you,¡± said Halni.


    Rugo went outside with Telia and Halni. Cain excused himself to look at the quest board, hoping to get a good quest to do, Beil followed him out of the office.


    ¡°That young man, he reminds me of someone, but I can¡¯t picture who,¡± said Daen to Nelcauf. They chose to stay in the room.


    ¡°Does he? Hmm¡­ and he looks strong, from his posture alone I can tell he¡¯s not just an ordinary Aquamarine newbie,¡± responded Nelcauf.


    ¡°True¡­¡±


    In the administration desk, Rugo completed his registration, but what he did not expect was the Hunters there applauded him when Telia said he just became the official member of Hunter Guild.


    Rugo nodded at Telia and Halni then went to the quest board. When Rugo left the desk, the Hunters started swarming Halni Rive. She handled them with a smile.


    ¡°Done? I saw the commotion,¡± said Cain when Rugo stood next to him.


    ¡°Yeah, quite convenient method they have,¡± replied Rugo, he showed Cain the Aquamarine crystal from his palm. ¡°now, let¡¯s see what¡¯s good.¡±


    Cain sighed. ¡°You¡¯ll be disappointed,¡± he said.


    ...


    ¡°Disappointment indeed,¡± said Rugo after ten minutes of looking at the quest board. ¡°But this,¡± he pointed to one of the papers hanging on the board.


    ¡°Hm? Slay the predator killer?¡± Cain read what was on the paper. ¡°Predator killer? Interesting¡­ but it¡¯s for Topaz rank and up.¡±


    ¡°Do you see any better quest than clean the sewer for Aquamarine rank?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°Err¡­ nope,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go ask Telia, No warriors should clean the sewer to earn their food,¡± said Rugo proudly.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s ask her then,¡± Cain shrugged after he took the paper from the board. He looked at where Beil was, he was surrounded by a bunch of female Hunters, who curiously petted him.


    ¡°He won¡¯t go anywhere, let¡¯s go,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°He¡¯s living a good life,¡± responded Cain with a little laugh.


    They went to Telia on the reception desk, beside her, Halni sat behind the desk, she was talking with the Hunters across the desk.


    ¡°Hey, can we take this quest?¡± Cain showed Telia the paper.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t,¡± responded Telia without taking the paper, she shook her head slowly. ¡°It¡¯s written for Topaz.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ is there a way to increase our rank quickly then?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°No, all Hunters have to-¡±


    ¡°There is,¡± Halni cut Telia¡¯s words.


    Her sudden change of attention towards Cain and Rugo made the Hunters who were talking with her annoyed.


    ¡°What is the way?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°Gemstone Trial,¡± said Halni with a smile.


    ¡°But, Mrs. Rive!?¡± Telia looked so surprised.


    The faces of the Hunters became pale when they heard the words, Gemstone Trial.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to my husband about it,¡± said Halni, ¡°it¡¯s been a while since we have a promising member,¡± then she looked at Cain for a few seconds. ¡°Sorry, members,¡± she smiled sharply.


    ¡°What is Gemstone Trial? I¡¯ve never heard of it?¡± asked Cain curiously.


    ¡°Telia will tell you about that, and I have to excuse myself to see my husband,¡± said Halni, ¡°of course you can refuse, but you¡¯ll have to rank up with normal way,¡± she smiled sharply again then went to the door near them, to the office.


    Telia sighed. ¡°To put it simple, Gemstone Trial is meant to increase your rank significantly, and it¡¯s free,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a way, and it¡¯s free!¡± Rugo exclaimed, ¡°let¡¯s do it then!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, I haven¡¯t told you everything yet,¡± said Telia. ¡°Gemstone Trial is not something to be taken lightly, you have to pass two tests, first is written test and the second is battle test,¡± she continued.


    ¡°If you beat the trial, based on the score you have gained, the Guild will determine what rank you jump into, the highest score will let you join Topaz rank, can¡¯t go higher than that.¡±


    ¡°It seems simple enough,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Not for the second test,¡± responded Telia, ¡°in the second test, you have to fight a supervisor of high ranking Hunter, and the battle itself is unrestrained.¡±


    ¡°Unrestrained?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°It has no rules,¡± said Telia, ¡°you¡¯ll fight for your life, the supervisor will try to take your life, and if you die, well, you die, the Guild will not take responsibility about it because it¡¯s your decision to take part in the Trial.¡±


    ¡°Whoa!? So harsh!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± said Rugo. ¡°Do we have to kill the supervisor to pass the Trial?¡±


    ¡°No, your objective is to stay alive for ten minutes, but if you kill the supervisor, you still can pass the test but you¡¯ll only can go up one rank, no matter how well you perform on both test.¡±


    ¡°Consequences, huh?¡± Rugo nodded a couple of times.


    ¡°If you manage to survive for ten minutes, the highest rank you could have is Spinel, but if you make your opponent surrender, you¡¯ll have Topaz rank, and don''t forget the written test also take part in the scoring.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ so the highest rank we could have is middle rank, huh?¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Yes, ten ranks of Hunter are Aquamarine, Garnet, Zircon, Spinel, Topaz, Alexandrite, Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. With this Trial, you can jump ahead from the bottom to the middle rank,¡± said Telia. ¡°Also, you can only take this Gemstone Trial once in a lifetime, and if you¡¯re already at Topaz rank, you can¡¯t take the Trial.¡±


    ¡°Why am I only hearing about this just now?¡± asked Cain.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really recommended, even some higher ups from the Guild disapprove this Trial because it has 60% death rate,¡± replied Telia.


    ¡°That high?¡± responded Rugo.


    Telia nodded calmly. ¡°Mostly, the participants of the Trial were cut down in just a couple of seconds. That¡¯s why the receptionists of the Guild are prohibited to tell new recruits about the Trial. And now, new members and low ranking Hunters could only participate this Trial with a recommendation from a high ranking Hunter, just like you, you are recommended by Mrs. Rive.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ and, is the killing really necessary?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°It is, we can¡¯t let you join the higher rank without knowing how good you are. Especially when you¡¯re just a newbie Hunter. Being challenged with your life in the line should give us the insight of what you can do. So, yes, the killing part here is to motivate you to do your best, besides, when you¡¯re out there doing high ranking quest, you''re either killed or live another day,¡± answered Telia. ¡°But don''t worry, if the participants really that good and promising, usually the supervisor won''t hurt them that much,¡± she continued.


    ¡°Forget about it, man,¡± said one of the Hunters, ¡°that moasrahn is likely to have a chance. I don¡¯t know what Mrs. Rive saw in you, no offense, but you have zero chance, man.¡± he said to Cain.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t throw away your life,¡± said another.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he has a chance as high as mine,¡± Rugo smirked.


    ¡°I-is that so?¡± responded the Hunter.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best,¡± said Cain with a confident smile.


    ¡°Are you really going to do the Trial?¡± asked Telia.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Cain and Rugo confidently.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve made up your mind,¡± said Daen, he came out from the office with his wife and Nelcauf.


    ¡°Complete the paper and you¡¯re ready to do the Trial,¡± said Nelcauf


    ¡°Here,¡± Telia handed them two pieces of paper, ¡°these papers contain about you participating in this Trial of your own will, and the Guild will not take responsibility if you die, also you¡¯ll not be held responsible if you kill someone in the course of the second test of Gemstone Trial.¡±


    Cain and Rugo took the papers.


    ¡°Sign with your blood in the bottom, if you really want to take the Trial,¡± said Telia.


    Without hesitation, Cain and Rugo shallowly sliced their fingers with a knife from Telia, they signed the papers.


    ¡°Done,¡± Telia took the papers.


    ¡°Damn, they are really doing it!¡± said one of the Hunters.


    ¡°Well, good luck to you,¡± said another.


    ¡°Do you need preparation before the first test?¡± asked Nelcauf.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°Me too,¡± said Rugo, ¡°by the way, who¡¯ll be our opponent in the second round?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re looking at them,¡± said Nelcauf while looking at Daen and Halni.


    ¡°Ooh! Shit! Mr. and Mrs. Rive themselves who will fight them!¡±


    ¡°My Goddess! I take back the good luck! They¡¯ll need a miracle!¡±


    ¡°Man, this will be over in an instant for that man, but I don''t know about that moasrahn, I think he may be able to survive for ten minutes.¡±


    The Hunters became restless.

 Chapter 49 - Gemstone Trial

    ¡°Alright, now please come with me, I¡¯ll be the one who handles the first test,¡± said Nelcauf.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± said Telia.


    Cain nodded in answer. ¡°Could you take care of Beil while I¡¯m doing the Trial?¡±


    ¡°Your otter? Sure,¡± Telia smiled.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Cain then walked with Rugo and Nelcauf.


    They went into a small room, the room had four tables with chairs, lined perfectly in a row. A large cupboard stood in front of the tables.


    ¡°Sit wherever you want,¡± said Nelcauf. ¡°Does this remind you about school or academy?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ sorry, I didn''t go to academy,¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°Neither do I, no such thing as school in my people,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Ho? Okay,¡± said Nelcauf, he smiled while nodding a couple of times.


    Cain sat down in the right corner and Rugo sat in the left corner. Nelcauf took out a thick and big book from the cupboard. He handed a magical quill pen and a piece of paper to each of them.


    ¡°In this written test, I will read the questions, and you can write the answer on your respective paper. There are one hundred questions with five subjects, one subject for each twenty questions,¡± Nelcauf opened the book while standing in front of them.


    ¡°The subjects are; basic knowledge, survival knowledge, terrain knowledge, beast knowledge, and the last, leadership and tactic method. No cheating, and one glance to other¡¯s paper will make you fail the first test. Any question?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Rugo.


    Cain shook his head slowly.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin,¡± Nelcauf started giving them the questions.


    ...


    After an hour, Cain, Rugo and Nelcauf finally came out from the room.


    ¡°Memeip!¡± greeted Beil from the administration desk.


    ¡°Are you done!?¡± said Telia in surprise.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re done,¡± responded Nelcauf.


    ¡°That was fast!¡± said Telia with frowned brows.


    ¡°That was easy,¡± Rugo laughed.


    They became the center of attention there. The Hunters looked at them curiously.


    ¡°Do you need to rest before the second test?¡± asked Nelcauf to Cain and Rugo.


    ¡°I¡¯m good to go,¡± replied Cain.


    ¡°Me too, though my throat is a bit dry,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Ah, here,¡± Telia took out two cups of tea from behind the desk. ¡°On the house,¡± she said.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± said Rugo, he one gulped the tea.


    ¡°Where are Mr. and Mrs. Rive?¡± asked Nelcauf to Telia.


    Cain also drank the tea.


    ¡°They already went to the beach, preparing the second test,¡± answered Telia.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Nelcauf.


    ¡°Let me take care of the papers, you should take them to the beach,¡± said Telia.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ alright,¡± Nelcauf handed Telia the papers. ¡°Now, come with me, gentlemen.¡±


    ¡°Meip?¡± cried Beil.


    ¡°Stay here, I won¡¯t be long,¡± said Cain to Beil.


    They went to the beach by riding Guild¡¯s carriage that Telia had prepared, Nelcauf took the reins as the coachman.


    ¡°Cain, do you know how strong Mercury Titanoboa is?¡± asked Rugo in the carriage.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ pretty strong, it¡¯s a rare beast with enormous size, solid scales, thick and tough muscle. It has holes around its body that constantly spouting mercury cloud. Also, it¡¯s pointless to hurt its eyes because Mercury Titanoboa can regenerate its eyes instantly.¡± answered Cain.


    ¡°Hoo¡­ interesting,¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Yeah, wouldn¡¯t mind seeing one,¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You described Mercury Titanoboa¡¯s strength very well, Cain,¡± said Nelcauf, ¡°though if you see one, run away as fast as you can, it¡¯s a dangerous beast.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m about to face that dangerous beast¡¯s slayers, I¡¯m not planning to lose,¡± responded Cain confidently.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking too, Cain! Hahah!¡± Rugo laughed.


    ¡°Confidence, huh? It¡¯s a good trait,¡± Nelcauf smiled warmly.


    They arrived at the beach and continued on foot on the sandy beach, they went to a quiet area. After passing a huge rock formation, they arrived at a sightly cove.


    ¡°What a view!¡± said Rugo enthusiastically.


    ¡°Welcome to the Fallenking Cove!¡± shouted Daen. He stood in the middle of the cove with Halni. They wore decorated steel armor. Daen had a sword hanging on his waist with a round shield on his left arm. Halni had a whip on her waist.


    No one else was there beside them. Cain, Rugo and Nelcauf walked towards Daen and Halni.


    ¡°There is a history about this place,¡± said Daen, ¡°once, there was a king who was weak, in mind and body, he was controlled by his aide. He came to this cove alone to practice and meditate to the sound of the waves. It bore fruit, his training and meditation. He surprised the nobles in the kingdom. His martial arts rose unmatched, his calmness made him solve his kingdom problems with ease. Fearing his control would be unshackled, his aide invited the king to this cove at night, something to see he said. Here, the aide ambushed him with dozens of assassins. When the sun rose, only the king stood at this cove among the bodies of the assassins. But he suffered a fatal injury, he knew he couldn''t make it back, then he accepted his fate to die slowly here, while watching the waves.¡±


    ¡°Then?¡± asked Rugo.


    ¡°Nothing, his kingdom is long gone,¡± said Daen while smiling.


    ¡°Enough with the story, honey,¡± said Halni, ¡°We¡¯ll do the second test here, are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Me too, but who¡¯s fighting who?¡± said Cain.


    ¡°We¡¯ll choose it by flipping a coin,¡± said Daen. He took out a coin and gave it to Cain.


    ¡°This looks old,¡± said Cain when he inspected the coin.


    The coin has a side with three layers of waves crashing against a rock, and the otherside was a flying eagle.


    ¡°Before you flip it, if you get the waves, you¡¯ll fight me,¡± said Daen, ¡°but if it¡¯s the opposite, you¡¯ll fight my wife.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± responded Cain.


    ¡°And whatever you get, Rugo will get the other side, is that clear?¡± asked Daen.


    Cain nodded in answer.


    ¡°Flip it then,¡± said Rugo, he seemed eager to find out who was going to fight him.


    Cain flipped the coin to the air and caught it with the back of his left hand when it fell. He got eagle side.


    ¡°Good, we are set, let¡¯s begin!¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Telia told you about the second test in detail?¡± asked Nelcauf to Cain and Rugo.


    ¡°Yeah, our lives is on the line, right?¡± responded Rugo.


    ¡°Correct, you can try to make them surrender or survive for ten minutes, the outcome depends on which method you complete this test. You can also quit in the middle of the test and failed the Gemstone Trial, understand?¡± said Nelcauf.


    ¡°Understood,¡± said Cain, he gave the coin back to Daen.


    ¡°Now, please get a space among yourselves, and don¡¯t forget stray attack may interrupt other fighting group. If you die by it, then your awareness to your surrounding is questionable, keep focus on your foe, but never forget about your surrounding. Don¡¯t forget not to interrupt your neighbor¡¯s battle, you¡¯ll fail the test if you do that,¡± said Nelcauf. ¡°I will be the observer in this second test, I will not interfere in any kind of situation until the battle is over unless there''s an outside force that meddles the battle.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Cain went to the west side of the cove with Halni. Rugo and Daen went to the east side.


    ¡°I will use my utmost ability to test you in this Trial, so never blame me if you die, Cain,¡± said Halni.


    ¡°Thanks, I will do my best too,¡± replied Cain.


    ¡°By the way, you don''t bring any weapon with you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll use my fist,¡± Cain cracked his fingers.


    On the east side, Rugo and Daen stared each other.


    ¡°Good, I got you as my opponent, I feel you¡¯re stronger than your wife,¡± said Rugo to Daen.


    ¡°Not really, my wife is the half reason we beat the Mercury Titanoboa, you can say we¡¯re equally strong,¡± replied Daen.


    ¡°Is that so? Heh, nevermind that, I¡¯ll get that Topaz rank today,¡± Rugo took out his crossbow and one of his khukris.


    ¡°I like your spirit, moasrahn!¡± Daen grinned. He unsheathed his sword and readied his shield.


    ¡°Okay! You may begin now!¡± shouted Nelcauf.


    In an instant, Daen dashed forward with his sword pointing at Rugo. Rugo wanted to jump, but his anticipation was delayed because his feet were slowed down by the sand. Calmly, Rugo parried the thrust with his khukri.


    ¡°Not bad! You survived the first second!¡± said Daen.


    ¡°Huh, I¡¯ll finish this before the time is up!¡± Rugo grinned. Their weapons clashed with each other.


    ¡°They have begun, what about us?¡± asked Cain.


    Halni just smiled at Cain.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    Cain dodged an explosion from where he stood. It wasn''t an ordinary explosion, but a blob of green liquid explosion.


    ¡°Poison!?¡± Cain regained his stance.


    ¡°Oh? You catch on quick, it¡¯s a great trait for a Hunter,¡± praised Halni.


    ¡°Poison arts and fire magic, huh?¡± Cain took a stance and smiled a little.


    ¡°My poison is quite potent, be careful, Cain,¡± Halni smiled.


    ¡°Thanks for the warning!¡± Cain dashed towards Halni.


    ¡°Trying to get close? No, you won¡¯t!¡± Halni bombarded him with rapid explosion of poison.


    Cain carefully avoided the explosion. ¡°(Damn! It¡¯s hard to get close! Her poison arts control is amazing!)¡± he thought.


    ¡°Poison arts? Interesting,¡± said Rugo when he glanced at Cain.


    ¡°She¡¯s the best!¡± shouted Daen.


    Rugo and Daen traded slash and blow, Rugo used his both khukris this time.


    Rugo took a step backwards. ¡°This is fun!¡± he said, ¡°your swordsmanship is good, shame we only have 10 minutes to fight!¡±


    ¡°Then, show me how strong moasrahn really is!¡± Daen grinned.


    ¡°You asked for it!¡± replied Rugo with a roar. He threw his weapons, and pulled out his claws. ¡°Thoars ha Jugrav!¡±


    ¡°Hoo? He took his claws out,¡± said Cain while dodging poison bolts from Halni.


    Halni looked at Cain sharply. ¡°(He¡¯s been dodging my poison for two minutes, but i see no signs of fatigue!)¡± she thought.


    She took out her whip and stopped her attack.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can keep dodging!¡± said Halni. She used her whip to attack Cain.


    Cain dodged the whip, while closing in towards Halni.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    Cain suddenly stepped backwards as jaws of fire erupted from the sand.


    ¡°Trap!? When did you put that?¡± asked Cain in surprise.


    ¡°If you¡¯re wondering, no, I didn''t put it before you come here,¡± Halni smiled.


    ¡°(She casted that magic trap when she was attacking me!? I didn¡¯t even see her casted it! As expected of high ranking Hunter, I still need a lot to learn!)¡± thought Cain.


    On the east side, Rugo dominated over Daen. His movement and strength were clearly above Daen.


    ¡°So, you are stronger when you¡¯re not using your weapons, huh?¡± said Daen while parrying Rugo¡¯s attack.


    ¡°My claws are weapon too!¡± Rugo spun and kicked Daen. Daen parried the kick with his shield. But he was sent backwards. Rugo leaped towards him while rolling in the air.


    ¡°Rraaaaghh!¡± Rugo swung down his right hand. His sharp claws met Daen¡¯s shield.


    ¡°Ugh!?¡± Daen survived the attack, but Rugo ripped apart his shield, fortunately Rugo¡®s claws did not touch Daen¡¯s forearm.


    Rugo¡¯s attack did not end there, he spun and struck Daen with his elbow, clean to the chest. Daen was thrown and hit the sand.


    ¡°What!? No way! He made Daen fall to the ground!?¡± said Nelcauf in shock. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that side too!?¡± he sharply traveled his eyes at Cain¡¯s fight.


    ¡°Is that all you can do, Cain? Just dodging all my attacks?¡± shouted Halni.


    ¡°(It¡¯s not that I can only dodge, but you really have no opening!)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°Let¡¯s end this!¡± Halni raised her left hand, dozens of poison bolts as big as a wine bottle formed around her. With a flick of her wrist, the poison bolts flew towards Cain.


    Cain calmly moved his hands, he covered himself with curved stone walls. The poison bolts, being a liquid, had no match against his solid wall of stones. All the poison bolts were neutralized by the walls.


    ¡°Magic!?¡± Halni was surprised.


    As Cain spread his hands, the stone walls moved, following his hands movement. He came out from the cover of stone walls. But as soon as he stepped out, Halni¡¯s whip made its way to him.


    Cain reacted by putting up his right hand. The whip caught his hand.


    ¡°So, you can use magic, huh?¡± said Halni, ¡°earth magic¡­ your control seems good.¡±


    Cain smiled. ¡°Thanks!¡± His hand was still on the grip of Halni¡¯s whip.


    ¡°Too bad, should¡¯ve used that sooner,¡± Halni smiled. ¡°Because by the time I say this, the poison on my whip is already spreading on your forearm. In about five seconds, you¡¯ll no longer be able to use your right arm, and it¡¯ll continue to spread throughout your body.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°But, don¡¯t worry, you can surrender now and I will give you the antidote, shouldn''t kill a good talent for the Hunter Guild, should I?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Cain just looked at her with a flat expression.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Halni yanked her whip, trying to get a response. But her expression changed when she couldn''t pull her whip. She expected Cain had lost control over his right arm because of the poison.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not worried¡­ and,¡± Cain took a stance as if he wanted to throw something. His left hand gripped the air, tighter and tighter. ¡°You¡¯re wide open!¡± shouted Cain. He threw a straight palm strike with his fingers bent touching the top of his palm. He threw the strike to Halni¡¯s direction.


    The sand was blown away as the invisible energy wave coming straight at Halni.


    Halni calmly casted a fiery fire ball, she threw the ball straight.


    The fire ball was blown away, it turned into a blazing flame before the energy swept it away.


    ¡°!!!¡± Halni¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t believe it, she threw the whip away and crossed her arms to defend against it.


    The energy wave hit so hard it threw Halni away. She bounced several times on the sand before her face kissed the sand.


    Nelcauf¡¯s mouth was wide open. ¡°He¡­ he threw her that far!?¡±


    ¡°Oh my Goddess!?¡± said Telia.


    ¡°Telia!? Why are you here!?¡± asked Nelcauf in confusion. He did not realize Tela appeared behind him because he was too shocked seeing the participants of the Gemstone Trial cornered The Slayers of Mercury Titanoboa.


    ¡°I- I was curious about them, but I didn''t think they¡¯re this strong!?¡± answered Telia. ¡°Oh yeah! Look at these, Sir!¡± Telia handed Nelcauf two pieces of paper.


    ¡°What are these?¡±


    ¡°I checked their answers from the first test on my way here, and this is extraordinary, Sir! Both of them got a perfect score!¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Not only that, Sir! They also added something we know nothing about on some of the answers, look here,¡± said Telia enthusiastically.


    On Cain¡¯s paper, there was an answer about ¡®how to deal with Ferus Mosquito in winter?¡¯


    Cain answer was correct, that mosquito hibernated when winter came, so did not have to deal with it. But he wrote another sentence, ¡®in summer, bring oranges, orange peels help repel mosquito¡¯.


    ¡°Orange peels!? Realy??¡± said Nelcauf.


    ¡°Here,¡± said Telia, she pointed at Rugo¡¯s paper.


    ¡°Number fifteen? Hmm¡­ I believe the question was which parts of banana trees have uses? There are four parts as far as I know, the blossom, the fruits, the leaves and the stem¡­ wait, the sap and the root can be used!?¡± said Nelcauf, ¡°the root for helping with toothaches, and the sap to help stop bleeding!?¡± he was baffled


    ¡°We¡­ We have to confirm all of these when we get back!¡± continued Nelcauf, ¡°but first, we have to see these battles through the end.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Daen glanced at Halni, ¡°he¡¯s that strong!?¡±


    ¡°Oi, human, I know you worry about your wife, but you shouldn¡¯t take your eyes off me,¡± said Rugo.


    ¡°Ah-hahaha, you¡¯re right! Sorry, sorry,¡± Daen removed his dented upper armor. The armor tumbled on the sand. He also threw away his sword.


    He revealed a muscular body with blue rolling waves tattoos all over his body.


    On Cain¡¯s side, Halni stood up while wiping her face. ¡°Guh¡­ you¡¯re immune to my poison? Impossible¡­ my poison is special, self taught concoction, it¡¯s called Narvimurdja, only I know the treatment towards its immunity. And yet your body resisted my poison, could it be¡­ absolute poison immunity!?¡±


    Cain smiled. ¡°Sort of,¡± he said.


    ¡°Young, strong, and strike hard when you find opponent¡¯s gap. You have what it takes to become a great Hunter one day, Cain,¡± said Halni. ¡°Interesting, I never thought I would use her to test you.¡±


    A giant bird formed from thin air above Halni. Its six massive wings were burning, everytime it flapped its wings, drops of red poison fell to the sand. A sizzling sound was heard with evaporated smoke when the drops touched the sand.


    The bird screeched while spreading its wings.


    ¡°Amazing! It¡¯s Mordax Eagle!¡± said Cain.


    ¡°You know about my Spirit Beast? Knowledgeable too, huh?¡± said Halni in surprise.


    Mordax Eagle was a very rare beast, a poisonous beast with a fiery flame burning on its wings. It was very aggressive and strong beast, it took four to six groups of seasoned Hunter to kill one.


    ¡°(She made that strong beast as her Spirit Beast, huh? And if I¡¯m not mistaken, Mordax Eagle uses corrosive poison, too bad I¡¯m not immune to corrosive type poison... and its body has high fire resistance,)¡± thought Cain.


    ¡°Heh, my wife is getting serious,¡± said Daen.


    ¡°You should too,¡± Rugo grinned.


    Daen smiled, he clenched his fists and took a stance. His tattoos began to glow.


    ¡°Do you know what the king¡¯s name from my story earlier is?¡± asked Daen. ¡°It¡¯s Vegaros Rive.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± the king¡¯s last name piqued Rugo¡¯s interest.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s my ancestor,¡± said Daen, ¡°and the coin, it based on the history of his kingdom, the wave side is from my ancestor¡¯s martial arts, Raging Waves technique.¡±


    ¡°And the eagle side, it was from the traitorous aide, my ancestor,¡± said Halni to Cain. ¡°My family has a tradition to always have Mordax Eagle as our Spirit Beasts.¡±


    ¡°Pretty funny isn¡¯t it,¡± said Daen, ¡°even our ancestors were enemy once, but here we are, as husband and wife.¡±


    ¡°Well, nothing is impossible,¡± responded Rugo. ¡°So, your family is the ruler of this land?¡±


    ¡°Nah, as I said, that kingdom is long gone,¡± said Daen.


    ¡°Oops, I forgot,¡± said Rugo, ¡°and I sense a constant and powerful energy coming out from you, is that your ancestor¡¯s technique?¡±


    ¡°Yes, never crossed in my mind you¡¯d corner me this far.¡±


    ¡°Great, more challenges mean more accomplishments I will get!¡± shouted Rugo.


    He raised his right hand and pulled a red light that appeared above his palm. The sand was blown away because of the shockwave. He activated the Reaver magic.


    ¡°(What is that energy flow!? I¡¯ve never seen something like that!)¡± thought Daen.


    ¡°That moasrahn! He¡¯s using more energy than before!¡± Cain grinned at Rugo, he looked excited.


    ¡°Moasrahn is fascinating, isn''t it?¡± said Halni, ¡°I¡¯m sure my husband can handle him.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ the time''s almost up.¡± said Cain while taking off his coat and left glove. ¡°Alright, y¡¯all won¡¯t be the only one who shows off your power!¡±


    With a blazing blue flame, Azure Bone Gauntlet appeared from Cain¡¯s left arm.


    ¡°Let see how strong that Mordax Eagle is!¡± Cain rushed towards Halni.


    ¡°Come, Daen! I have Topaz rank to get!¡± shouted Rugo.