EPISODE 15

I wasn't a particularly lucky person.

During my time as a mercenary, a mission that should have been a D-grade task had escalated into a B-grade threat, leaving only two of us out of ten survivors.

We hadn't been unscathed, though. The other survivor had lost a leg, while I had ended up with a nasty scar across my face.

There was also the time I had accidentally gotten into a fight at a bar with an underworld boss who controlled the back alleys. Or the time I had proudly swung a newly purchased sword, only for the blade to snap.

If I were a lucky person in the first place, I would have received some blessings.

As such, I found the current situation confusing. After all, the poison that the enemy used as a last resort turned out to be the best medicine for me.

Anyone who wrote a heroic story this way would face heavy criticism.

I exhaled a hot breath. A searing heat spread from my shoulders, rushing through my entire body as if I were on fire. In an instant, it reached my dantian.

At that moment, the overwhelming momentum faltered as it encountered the Fire Qi in my dantian.

The Fire Qi's overall capacity was poor. It hadn't even formed a bonfire, let alone reached my ultimate goal of a sun.

Nevertheless, I was certain my Fire Qi, carefully condensed through the martial art created by the First Under Heaven, was the purest form of Yang Qi in the world.

In essence, the Fire Qi in my dantian was the superior version of every flame in the world.

My Fire Qi and the Extreme Yang Qi merged effortlessly as if my Fire Qi naturally absorbed the heat.

This was the nature of fire.

If water collided with water, waves would form.

If earth collided with earth, an earthquake would occur.

If trees collided, they would become entangled.

Few things were as difficult to mix together as metals.

Yet, when fire encountered fire, they naturally merged.

"Hah." I exhaled again, briefly relishing the heat. My head burned, and my body grew even hotter, wrapped in a pleasant warmth as if soaking in a hot bath.

I savored the moment before charging toward Osel.

"What...?!" This time, Osel looked genuinely surprised.

Well, I was uncertain whether I interpreted his expression correctly, given his toad-like appearance.

Before I even reached Osel, I made a move, and flames shot from my palm toward him.

This was the White Sun Style's 2nd Move, Fire Wheel—my only long-distance technique.

While not very powerful, it was effective for keeping opponents in check, which made it a commonly used technique. Surprisingly, it consumed a lot of internal energy, so I hadn't been able to use it until now.

Fire Wheel exploded at Osel's face.

Sparks flew in all directions, creating a spectacular display, though the actual power was minimal.

"Cover me," I ordered Arjan before closing the distance to Osel.

Osel shook his head violently to brush off the sparks and shouted, "How the hell can you move?"

"You said that there is only a slight difference between medicine and poison. I'd say this one turned out to be quite the blessing," I answered.

"T-this... You dare...!"

At that moment, Osel's throat swelled, and he spat at me.

This bastard is so predictable. Is it poison again?

I dodged the purple fluid, dashed into his arms, and punched his plump, fleshy upper body.

The sensation wasn't pleasant—his skin was slippery, and the friction seemed to deflect some of the force of my blow.

I can't take him down with just physical force...

Osel also realized this and laughed.

"With just a punch, you—" He stopped mid-sentence, his words turning into a scream as Arjan lodged daggers in his large eyes.

Nice assist, Arjan.

I watched as Osel clutched his eyes, thrashing in pain. He was a more troublesome opponent than I'd anticipated, but now I had a way to finish this.

My master had always said that most problems could be solved with immense internal energy.

I poured my internal energy into my fist, pushing it to the limit. Once it reached its peak, I thrust it forward.

This was the White Sun Style's 1st Move, Scorching.

Despite its grand name, Scorching was simply a straight punch. Its power, however, varied greatly depending on how much internal energy you injected into it. Moreover, all the techniques of the White Sun Eclipse were deadly moves.

"Keok...!"

Osel's head snapped back, and his grotesque tongue hung limply like a rope.

This response was promising, but my attack hadn't landed properly.

This was when a thought struck me.

I grabbed Osel's tongue and wrapped it around his neck.

Osel, who had lost his sight, let out a sound of confusion, and I yanked his tongue out

Finally realizing the situation, he started to struggle.

"Arjan!" I hollered.

Fortunately, Arjan was quick to act. Even without an explanation, she drove her daggers all over Osel's body to immobilize him.

She was likely targeting his tendons, but it didn't have a significant effect.

It didn't seem like a mistake—perhaps his body structure had changed after he turned into a monster.

Nonetheless, Osel screamed in pain, as though he could still feel it.

His appearance and cries made it clear that he was no longer a human.

Just die already.

Osel went on a rampage, twisting and thrashing like a madman.

Despite this, I clung to him like a monkey and tightened my grip.

Honestly, it was difficult for me as well. My muscles spasmed from the strain, my weak body exerting too much effort.

However, this was the right course of action. It was the safest way to kill Osel.

The screams proved it.

If he was full of Dark Qi, he wouldn't feel pain. This suggested that his Dark Qi was steadily disappearing from his body.

How many trees had Osel destroyed during his rampage?

I could feel his body losing strength. Soon, he stopped moving completely.

"Is he dead?" I muttered.

A corpse couldn't speak.

My body relaxed as Osel remained silent. I exhaled deeply.

Damn, I might actually die out here. Why did I come to the mountains to seek wealth and glory? Ah, right, it was the Iron-Blooded Lord's order. My mind wasn't functioning properly.

Arjan approached while I was catching my breath and gazing at the dark sky.

"Is he dead?" she asked.

I could still move my mouth, so I answered, "Yes. This time for sure."

Arjan looked down at Osel's corpse with a thoughtful expression and remained silent for a long time. Eventually, she looked back at me with a similar gaze and asked a rather unexpected question. "Is your shoulder okay?"

She was referring to the spot Osel's dagger had struck.

"Shoulder? Ah, it's fine. Such a small wound can heal with just saliva," I replied.

I had exaggerated slightly, but it wasn't entirely untrue. One of the First Fire Technique's strengths was rapid recovery.

"However, there is still a risk of infection. Please disinfect it," I added.

"I understand." A brief silence followed before the hesitant Arjan spoke up. "Young Master Luan."

"What is it?"

"Are you really my young master?" she asked.

Her question mirrored the one the first knight had asked when I overpowered him, but I couldn't respond with the same sarcasm. This situation was different.

Arjan had been with me for nearly a year and had witnessed some of my most vulnerable moments in the mansion. How could I convince someone like this?

Trying felt pointless. I was tired, so I decided not to make any excuses and simply replied, "That's right."

I am Luan Badniker. What can you do?

"What about you, Arjan?" I asked.

"What about me?"

"I witnessed the whole battle. As they said, you are no ordinary butler. What on earth did you do at home?" I pressed.

"That..." Arjan hesitated.

"Is it hard to say?"

"It's not exactly that," she replied.

"Forget it. I don't intend to force you to answer."

I forced myself to sit up. My body groaned, but I couldn't lie there forever. Osel had mentioned that nocturnal monsters were rare in this area, but we had made so much noise that even the sleeping ones would have woken up.

"Here is what we'll do," I said. "Just as you have questions for me, I have questions for you. The common ground is that neither of us has crossed into suspicion yet, right?"

Arjan was confused. "Huh?"

"See, there is no animosity between us. We've just fought as a team, right?" I explained.

"That is true, but—"

Arjan's embarrassed expression made her look younger than usual. For some reason, her age piqued my curiosity. Maybe she wasn't much younger than me.

"So let's put aside any minor questions until we leave this mountain range," I suggested. "We may have dealt with these fellows, but that doesn't mean we are completely safe."

Arjan hesitated for a moment before closing her eyes slightly. It looked as if she was organizing her thoughts.

"I will do so," she said, nodding more calmly than expected.

"Good. Then..." I trailed off and approached Osel's corpse to search it.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I need to learn more about them. There must be a clue among their belongings." I instructed, "Arjan, search the other knights. Ah, I kept one alive."

"Yes. Understood."

Osel seemed to hold the most useful clues. Anyone could tell he was the leader.

As expected, Osel had more valuable items than I anticipated—twelve gold coins, a rough map of the Jewel Mountains, and a note with unfamiliar characters. The note was densely written, with small characters the size of a grain of rice.

"Young Master Luan, all knights are dead," Arjan reported.

"What?" I instinctively tucked the gold coins deep into my pocket and tilted my head. "Really? I held back with that fellow over there."

"I think he swallowed poison," she speculated.

"Haah."

Had he killed himself after witnessing Osel's defeat or before? Either way, he seemed a man with no regrets.

Arjan approached me and added, "Also, there was nothing of value on their bodies."

"Really? I found these." I showed her the map and note.

Arjan examined them, her brow furrowing. Gradually, her expression turned into one of shock.

Curious, I asked, "Arjan, can you read this?"

"Ah..." A look of frustration crossed Arjan's face.