“Phew.”
Rimmer sighed, watching the trainees returning to the village.
“Seriously, he is too stubborn.”
He glared at Burren, who was following right behind Raon.
He thought he had grown softer than the first time he saw him, but that was apparently only towards Raon.
‘I guess.’
Burren had started changing after realizing Raon’s efforts. It wasn’t strange for him to have changed only towards Raon.
‘Runaan has also changed.’
The expressionless girl with faint emotion was now talking and expressing herself clearly. That change was also going to greatly affect her swordsmanship.
‘And Martha.’
Her eyes were also visibly different. She seemed to be deeply moved from watching Raon’s fight and righteous spirit.
‘She must be interested in the Sword Field in order to catch up to Raon.’
The reason that she was interested in the Sword Field must’ve been to either to catch up to Raon, or to stand by his side.
Checking on every trainee, Rimmer could feel that they had all grown up in terms of power and mentality.
He felt proud of them, and ashamed at the same time—ashamed that he couldn’t arrive in time to save them.
“Well, then… ugh!”
As he was about to follow the trainees, he felt a pain in his lower abdomen.
“Damn it…”
It was the price for straining his broken energy center and even opening the Sword Field. It felt like his life itself had grown shorter.
‘My lifespan must’ve decreased.’
He avoided telling the trainees about it, but lifespan needed to be offered in order to open a Sword Field without being a Zieghart.
Since he wasn’t neither young nor healthy, his lifespan must’ve decreased drastically.
‘I have no regrets, though.’
He had already lived long enough.
Ever since his energy center was broken, he couldn’t feel any fulfillment in his life.
Since he felt like he had found a new life ever since he started teaching those children, he didn’t regret offering his lifespan in the slightest.
“Haa…”
Rimmer stood up after waiting for the pain in his heart and energy center subsided.
He could see the villagers bowing at Raon.
“Still, I need to live to see the day he becomes the head.”
He giggled on his own, disappearing from his spot like the wind.
***
Zieghart’s South-West branch office was in charge of Cebu village and Cebu Mountain’s protection.
“Tsk.”
Zieghart’s South-West branch office manager, Brukas, clicked his tongue while heading towards Cebu village.
‘Did he mention Eden?’
A trainee named Krein came up to him and told him Eden had appeared in Cebu village.
Apparently Raon Zieghart noticed the Red Eye Demon’s observation, but that sounded like bullshit to him.
In order to notice a Red Eye Demon’s gaze, one needed to be at least an intermediate Expert.
It didn’t make any sense that Raon, who was only fifteen years old, would notice.
“Branch manager, do we really need to go when it doesn’t even make any sense? We’ve already investigated it, you know.”
The branch’s vice-manager, Serviane, came next to him and complained. He seemed to be complaining since he was the one who investigated Cebu village and Cebu Mountain.
“It’s not because of Raon. It’s because Burren, Runaan, and Martha are over there. If something happens to those three, our entire branch office might be executed.”
“Aww, that sounds awful.”
“Manage your expression. You have to… Huh?”
Brukas’s eyes widened upon seeing the blood on the road towards the village. Upon following the stream of blood flowing like a river, a huge green body came into view.
“O-ogre?”
A round and brutal face. A body and limbs as thick as several logs piled up together. It was an ogre’s corpse, the tyrant of the mountain.
“It’s an ogre!”
“Wh-why is an ogre here?”
“Moreover, there are two of them…”
The branch’s swordsmen swallowed, standing in front of the ogres’ corpses.
“Hmm…”
Brukas frowned after examining the ogres’ corpses. What killed them was a single strike hitting their weak point, a master’s attack.
‘I don’t know about Eden, but something happened for sure.’
People’s blood and clothes could also be found on top of the ogres’ corpses and blood.
“Stay on red alert.”
The light in Brukas’s eyes changed. He immediately started running towards the village, and the branch’s swordsmen also followed him with serious expressions.
Finding the village’s entrance, which looked like it was crushed by a passing giant, they increased the speed even further. When they were about to cross the center of the village, the trainees appeared in front of them.
“You…”
Brukas couldn’t finish his sentence upon seeing the trainee standing at the front.
‘What is this…?’
Raon Zieghart.
The frail-looking boy’s left arm was limp like a rag, and holes as big as a fist could be seen on his waist and his thigh.
However, the boy wasn’t even groaning despite his severe injuries, and his eyes were as clear as a night lake.
A powerful pressure could be felt, despite his wounded state.
It was a feeling of facing an old swordsman with lots of expertise, through countless accomplishments.
“I’m the fifth training ground’s top trainee, Raon Zieghart.”
Raon politely greeted him.
“Ah, y-yes. What exactly happened here? Did Eden really appear?”
Brukas stuttered, flustered by Raon’s pure energy.
“Indeed.”
After saying that, he threw two helmets under his feet.
They were the Green War Demon’s helmet, with an orc fighter’s drawing on it, and the Blood Raving Demon’s helmet, with an Ogre’s head drawn on it.
“B-Blood Raving Demon and Green War Demon? D-did Eden really appear?”
“We were the ones who killed the Green War Demon, but it was the instructor who killed the Blood Raving Demon.”
“Instructor?”
“It was Instructor Rimmer.”
“Ah…”
Since the Blood Raving Demon was a warrior at a Master’s level, he was surprised to hear that Rimmer had killed him with his broken energy center.
“He is really amaz… Ah, wait!”
Brukas dropped his jaw. He finally understood something more surprising than Rimmer killing the Blood Raving Demon.
“Y-you guys killed the Green War Demon?”
* * *
* * *
“Yes.”
Raon plainly nodded.
“H-how? How could you have killed the Green War Demon?”
Rimmer killing the Blood Raving Demon was surprising, but it didn’t make any sense that the trainees could’ve killed the Green War Demon and the green demons.
“We just killed him.”
“T-tell me in more detail!”
“Hmm, the guy behind me will tell you in more detail, since I need to heal my wounds.”
“Ah, right. That’s right.”
Brukas nodded. Raon’s wound was serious for sure. A normal person would’ve been crying and going crazy.
“Serviane, you shall cure Raon.”
“Ah, yes.”
Serviane was the healer as well as the branch’s vice-manager. He was standing in a daze, then followed Raon upon hearing his order.
“So, what exactly happened here? Tell me every single detail.”
“I’m not sure if you will believe me…”
Burren described everything that had happened, without any exaggeration nor reduction.
“That doesn’t make any…”
Brukas exclaimed in a hoarse voice. His throat felt clogged because of the ridiculousness of the story.
“But it’s true.”
Every trainee, including Burren, Runaan, and Martha, nodded.
“Huh…”
It was absurd.
‘He cut off his arm with a surprise attack from the back, then cut off his head in the end?’
That was already surprising enough. However, he couldn’t do anything other than scream in astonishment from hearing what happened next.
‘He withstood the Blood Raving Demon’s attacks for almost ten minutes…’
Burren said Raon allowed everyone to escape, then held back the Blood Raving Demon until Rimmer appeared.
Raon was a mere fifteen-year-old trainee, one that wasn’t even qualified as a swordsman. And apparently, he crossed swords with the Blood Raving Demon, who was a Master. His head was going numb from the absurdity.
“Phew…”
Brukas sighed and examined the trainees. Judging from their unwavering eyes, they were only stating the truth.
He turned around to look at the house that Raon had entered.
He swallowed. Even the current Head of House, Lord Glenn wouldn’t have been able to fight against the Blood Raving Demon at the age of fifteen.
‘Monster…’
That was the only word he could think of. Genius wasn’t enough for Raon Zieghart. He was a real monster.
***
“I-I’ll be leaving, then.”
Serviane, who introduced himself as the branch’s vice-manager, stood up after bandaging him up with medicine.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, it was nothing.”
He went outside after shaking his hand.
“Haa…”
Raon leaned his back against the wall, enduring the pain.
‘It feels like a dream.’
He still couldn’t believe that he had killed the Green War Demon and survived against the Blood Raving Demon with his problematic body.
‘I was lucky.’
He managed to get the upper hand against the Green War Demon thanks to the trainees attracting his attention, and he managed to hold on against the Blood Raving Demon thanks to the growth he got from that.
It wouldn’t have been weird for him to die in either of the situations if he had been missing anything.
‘But I managed to grow once again.’
Raon clenched his fist. His stats, experience, and prowess had all increased through the difficult battle against the Blood Raving Demon.
He was a completely different person from before arriving at Cebu village.
He was definitely at the novice level Sword Expert now.
‘It seems hardship is necessary in order to get stronger.’
It was something he had felt in his previous life, that the opportunity only came through the wave called crisis.
‘Moreover…’
Raon grinned, shaking the ice flower bracelet containing Wrath.
“I managed to grow up even more thanks to you.”
Ugh…
Wrath surged from the ice flower along with a blue flame.
The King of Essence has never made such a sloppy bet. You didn’t kill that rough guy wearing an ogre's helmet.
“That’s different.”
Raon shook his head.
“The bet between us was about the Blood Raving Demon’s death. That means it doesn’t matter who killed him.”
Kugh, damn it!
Wrath boiled in intense anger. He started lamenting that he didn’t check the bet properly because the situation was so critical.
‘Hmm…’
Raon frowned, instead of making fun of Wrath like always. His feelings were touching him a lot more deeply than usual.
‘Is it because I received his wrath?’
It seemed he could feel his emotion a lot better because he had received his wrath.
‘It’s more dangerous than I thought.’
It was just ten points of Wrath, yet it already had a significant effect. It looked like he needed to be more careful in making contracts with him in the future.
“Let’s check it again.”
Raon increased the tone of his voice to pretend nothing special had happened and opened the previous messages.
[You’ve won the bet against ‘Wrath’.]
[All stats have increased by 3.]
[You have achieved the fourth victory against Wrath.]
[Extra stats have increased with the effect of four consecutive victories.]
[Strength has increased by 1.]
[Agility has increased by 2.]
[Energy has increased by 1.]
He even got extra points like when he won the third bet. They were generous rewards, befitting the giving Wrath.
Clench!
Raon clenched his fist. He could feel his exhausted muscles reviving with his stats increasing at once.
I shouldn’t have made that damned bet!
Wrath shouted that it was a scam and covered the entire room with coldness.
“There’s still more, you know.”
[A trait of ‘Wrath’ has been created as the second reward of the bet.]
[The trait has been decided.]
[The trait ‘Iron Will’ has been created.]
