The day dawned.
Quietly rising from his slumber, Ruon felt incredibly refreshed and turned his head.
‘Did the fire burn all night?’
Warmth still lingered in the fireplace, the wood burning gently.
Ruon stood up, looking at the sleeping face of the little girl with her little brother in her arms.
Opening the door to let in some fresh air, he found the innkeeper awkwardly stumbling backwards, landing on his butt.
“What are you doing here?”
Clutching his waist, the innkeeper stammered as he looked at Ruon’s expressionless face.
“I-I came to check if Lena was okay.”
“If by Lena you mean the inn’s employee, she’s sleeping peacefully.”
“Is that so?”
Clearly relieved, the innkeeper let out a deep sigh, prompting Ruon to ask.
“Why? You thought we might have done something to her?”
‘He must have thought so.’
Ruon extended his hand towards the innkeeper.
“Take my hand.”
“Goodness!”
The innkeeper grabbed his hand, and Ruon pulled him to his feet.
“As I said yesterday, I apologize for causing trouble at your inn.”
His low voice was without pretense.
The innkeeper, who had owned the inn for many years and had a preconceived notion of these types of men from his years of work, blinked in confusion, not expecting Ruon to apologize again, but suddenly regained his composure and blinked his eyes.
“No, no, it’s actually me who should apologize. I shouldn’t have turned away guests who came to my establishment, no matter what… I’m sorry for that.”
As the innkeeper finished his bittersweet murmurs, a voice from inside the door, still groggy with sleep, could be heard.
“Uncle Dubo? What’s going on?”
Dubo, the innkeeper, rubbed his eyes and looked at the approaching girl with surprise.
“Lena, you’re safe!”
Dubo, who had shouted so loudly without realizing it, quickly covered his mouth with his hand and looked at Ruon, realizing that his words could be misunderstood.
Lena, the girl, responded with a slightly annoyed tone.
“Uncle, these aren’t the kind of people you think they are.”
“I, I know.”
Lena looked at Dubo, who was red in the face, and then turned to Ruon.
“His daughter is just as sick as my brother.”
“Lena, why do you have to bring that up…”
Lena looked up at Ruon and said, “This warrior here is looking into why the children are sick.”
Dubo’s expression became even more flustered.
“Y-You mean to say you paid these mercenaries to help? Where did you get the money?”
It was Ruon who responded to Dubo’s words.
“You must have had a hard enough time cleaning up after yourself, let alone seeing such a horrific sight, I’m helping to pay back for that.
As a low rumbling sound came from inside through the partially open door, Stravo and Igor exited the door one after the other.
“What’s happening this early in the morning?”
“Ruon, are you okay?”
Looking at them, Ruon nodded slightly.
“Let’s get to work.”
***
Igor stayed in the village to help improve the children’s condition while Ruon and Stravo aimlessly searched the back mountains of the village.
‘I thought I’d seen it all.’
Watching Stravo put his dirt-covered index finger onto his tongue, Ruon asked, “Do all druids do that?”
Spitting out the dirt mixed with saliva on the ground, Stravo replied.
“Well, I’m a dwarf, so my ability to sense nature and connect with it is much weaker compared to the elves! I can’t close my eyes and feel the wind to determine direction like they can.”
He scratched the bridge of his nose.
“I sense something different nearby. There’s an unfamiliar taste mixed with the dirt. Something nauseating and a hint of a curse…”
Ruon interrupted Stravo’s words.
“I’ve never tasted dirt, so I wouldn’t know. Anyway, are you saying it’s around here?”
Ruon quickly sharpened his senses.
Using his keen senses to survey the surroundings, Ruon suddenly felt something and shifted his gaze into the distance.
“Is that it?”
“What? Where?”
Stravo, who craned his neck in the direction Ruon had pointed, muttered through gritted teeth.
“Shit, How could I see it when your eye level is nearly twice as high as mine? What does it look like?”
“It’s a black horse. A big one, taller than shoulder height.”
Stravo nodded in response to Ruon’s description.
“I’ve never seen one myself, but… a black horse suddenly appearing on this mountain path, it’s likely to be a Nightmare, don’t you think?”
Ruon silently narrowed his eyes.
The black horse standing tall on the steep mountain path was an impressive sight, with a wild and long mane.
The clearly defined muscular legs and broad shoulders looked robust, not the least bit delicate.
Ruon said, “I’ll go ahead and deal with it. You can follow slowly.”
“Alone?”
“There’s no need for both of us to rush in. If I can subdue it, I will. If not, I’m willing to kill it, but what will happen to the children if I do?”
Stravo replied promptly.
“Nightmares feed on the life force of those tormented by nightmares. If the source of the curse dies, the children will regain their sanity.”
Hearing a sufficient answer, Ruon nodded briefly and headed towards the black horse.
The black horse’s muscular neck stood stiff and his nostrils flared, as though he considered himself the king of this forest.
He snorted harshly and watched as Ruon, who didn’t feel the need to hide presence, approached.
The black horse’s red eyes flickered as it gazed at Ruon’s, and it let out a fierce roar and charged.
Hi-Hi-Hi-Hng!
As if its hooves were made of iron, shards of broken stone rained down in all directions with each stomp of its legs.
The imposing charge of the large black horse was no less than that of a ferocious beast, but Ruon didn’t dodge.
As the creature came close, he wrapped his arm around its neck, using the force of the Nightmare’s headbutt to propel himself into the air and landing on its back.
Hi-Hi-Hi-Hng!
The Nightmare violently bucked, trying to throw the unwanted human off its back, which had never been ridden before.
Despite the chaotic movements that uprooted trees and shattered rocks around them, Ruon maintained his balance.
Adapting to the horse’s movements, he bent his upper body in the opposite direction to offset the weight shift and held on with his legs wrapped around the horse’s back.
As his log-like thighs squeezed its torso with unbelievable force, the startled Nightmare thrashed even more violently.
Its lungs under immense pressure, the creature’s reckless movements began to subside gradually.
‘Are you calming down now?’
That’s what Ruon thought, but suddenly, the Nightmare’s mane flared, and an eerie and ominous power surged from its body.
The Nightmare didn’t miss the human’s momentary pause as he was hit with its curse and violently shook its body, trying to throw the human off. Intending to crush the insignificant human under its hooves, he raised his hind legs and kicked with all its might.
Or at least that’s what it tried to do.
“…Enough of this.”
Thud!
With a swift motion, Ruon brought down the edge of his palm, striking the Nightmare’s forehead.
The massive creature staggered heavily, while its formless and malevolent power continued to emanate.
“You’re still trying to fight?”
Ruon’s mental strength, which had overcome even the power of Belducias, could not be broken by the curse of a mere Nightmare.
Ruon struck again with his palm.
The black horse’s neck, which had been swaying drunkenly from the impact, snapped upwards. Ruon firmly grabbed the mane and forcibly lifted its head, looking into its eyes.
“It’s over.”
From a distance, Stravo, who had been watching, approached with a wry smile.
“I thought you were going to kill it.”
Ruon, who had been careful to control his strength, shrugged.
“If I wanted to kill it, I would have punched it.”
“Oh, well, I guess that’s true.”
Ruon gestured toward the huffing black horse.
“Can you tame it? You said there was a 50% chance.”
“Isn’t empathizing with animals the specialty of a druid? Just trust me.”
Seeing the dirt-covered face of the dwarf talking about animal empathy was somewhat comical, and having no other options, he nodded in agreement.
“I’ll trust you.”
As both of Stravo’s large hands wrapped around the Nightmare’s face, green veins bulged on his head.
He closed his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
“Please release some of the pressure on its legs.”
Ruon said with a sigh.
“Alright, but tell it that if it tries to buck again, I will shatter its skull.”
As Stravo continued, the Nightmare visibly trembled, and Ruon furrowed his brows.
“Does it understand you?”
Stravo nodded.
Stravo nodded.
“Of course. Even though it looks like a horse, it’s an entity capable of handling the power of a curse… It’s incredibly intelligent compared to a normal horse.”
Ruon barely let him finish his explanation before he struck the Nightmare’s forehead with his palm again.
Hi-Hi-Hi-Hng!
Stravo tilted his head quizzically.
“Why did you hit it?”
“Because I felt like it.”
After a short pause, Ruon spoke again.
“Even though it can’t talk, it understands me, doesn’t it? It sounds like a typical Korean.”
“Hmm? What is that?”
“The effects of indoctrination… No, never mind.”
After speaking vaguely, Ruon leaned close to the Nightmare’s ear.
“I didn’t kill you for two reasons.”
At his chilling tone, the Blackmare tensed up and exhaled nervously.
“One, you’re not a monster that has directly killed people, and two, our group could use a horse.”
Ruon continued.
“If you promise to stop the nightmares you’ve planted in the children and cooperate peacefully, I won’t kill you.”
The Nightmare shook its head in fear, instinctively sensing the violent power in his calm voice. Although translation wasn’t really necessary, Stravo added, “It agrees.”
Finally, as Ruon released the pressure from his thighs, the Blackmare let out a rough breath.
At that moment, Stravo spoke again.
“Ruon, I sensed something while empathizing with him. It seems it isn’t a natural Nightmare.”
Hearing this, Ruon raised an eyebrow.
“What does that mean?”
“Well, you see… It wasn’t always like this. It was exposed to an unknown curse a long time ago… So, he seems to be in a state where he can utilize that power.”
‘What the hell?’
Ruon contemplated his words for a moment before responding.
“So, originally, he was an ordinary creature, but after being cursed for a long time, he became able to use that power naturally?”
“That’s right!”
While Stravo nodded with a clap of his hands, Ruon dismounted from the Nightmare’s back.
From what Stravo had said, the black horse seemed to have its own story, but Ruon wasn’t particularly interested. The only thing that mattered was that he had obtained a good horse for free.
Despite Ruon dismounting from its back, the black horse seemed to have no intention of running away and stood calmly in its place.
Impressed by its demeanor, Ruon gently patted the horse’s forehead and spoke.
“Let’s get along well. My packhorse.”
