“They’re gone now.
Get ready, Nucky.”
Noctis’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
He lowered me from his lap, and I immediately stood up.
Then I reached for the sword at my waist.
The System had given me this weapon when I awakened, but I had never drawn it before.
At first, I had been content with covering my eyes with a piece of cloth.
As long as I could keep my abilities hidden, there was no reason to reveal anything unnecessarily.
But the situation had changed.
I was about to face Two-Star Beasts.
I couldn’t afford to remain completely helpless.
The System had brought me nothing but trouble since the day I encountered it.
Every new ability seemed to come with another mystery, another danger, or another problem I couldn’t understand.
That was why I had wanted to draw this blade somewhere safe, where I could study it and learn how to control it.
Unfortunately, the world rarely cared about what I wanted.
And this certainly wasn’t the situation I had imagined.
Noctis glanced at me and smiled.
“Do you know how strong these beasts are?
It’ll take me about two minutes to kill all of them.”
I adjusted my grip on the sword.
“Leave one or two for me.”
Noctis raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?
Someone’s feeling ambitious today.”
“Are you going to help me or not?”
He chuckled.
“Of course.
Once they get close enough, take one and show me what you can do.
If you can’t handle it, I’ll finish it for you.”
“Fine.”
I took a deep breath.
“Let’s see how this blade works.”
About a minute later, I sensed something approaching us.
The ground trembled faintly beneath my feet.
The beasts were close.
According to Noctis, there should have been twelve of them.
But I could sense only eleven distinct auras.
“Why are there only eleven?” I asked.
“One separated from the group.”
“Where did it go?”
“Who knows?
Maybe it found something more interesting to eat.”
I ignored his ridiculous answer.
Before I could ask anything else, a beast suddenly leaped out from between the trees.
Its enormous body crashed through the undergrowth as it charged toward us.
I didn’t remove my blindfold.
For now, I trusted Noctis to protect me if things went wrong.
“Give me one,” I reminded him.
Noctis nodded.
“Don’t worry.
I’ll make sure you get your chance.”
The Two-Star Beast in front of me was several times stronger than I was.
In terms of raw strength, I was at a considerable disadvantage.
But strength wasn’t everything.
These beasts possessed little intelligence.
They relied primarily on instinct, aggression, and physical power.
Noctis had trained me for a long time.
He had taught me how to observe my opponents, recognize their movements, and attack when they exposed a weakness.
I didn’t need to overpower a beast.
I only needed to find a way to kill it.
The moment the beasts noticed us, they attacked.
Two of them charged directly toward me.
Noctis reacted immediately.
His sword flashed through the air.
Slash!
One beast collapsed before it could reach me.
The other continued charging.
I tightened my grip on my weapon.
Noctis had deliberately left this one for me.
I couldn’t afford to waste the opportunity.
I concentrated on the approaching beast, trying to identify a weakness through its aura.
Without my eyes, I couldn’t rely on ordinary vision.
I had to depend on what Noctis had taught me about sensing the energy flowing through a living creature.
At first, everything seemed chaotic.
The beast’s aura surged wildly around its body, making it difficult to distinguish one part from another.
I slowed my breathing.
Focus.
Gradually, the chaos began to settle.
I could sense the shape of its body more clearly.
Its movements.
Its strength.
The direction in which it was preparing to strike.
And then—
I found it.
A weak point around its throat.
There!
That was where I needed to strike.
However, I immediately recognized another problem.
If the beast hit me even once, I might not be able to continue fighting.
My body wasn’t strong enough to withstand a direct attack from a Two-Star Beast.
I had to be careful.
Every movement mattered.
The beast suddenly lowered its body and sprang toward me.
I stepped aside at the last possible moment.
BOOM!
It crashed into a tree.
The impact shook the branches, scattering leaves across the ground.
The beast stumbled before turning back toward me.
That was my chance.
I rushed forward and swung my sword toward its throat.
CLANG!
My blade struck its skin.
But instead of cutting deeply, it only opened a shallow wound.
My strength wasn’t enough.
The beast’s hide was far tougher than I had expected.
Before I could recover, it twisted around and lunged at me again.
I tried to evade.
Too late.
Its enormous body was already upon me.
I couldn’t escape in time.
Then—
SLASH!
A familiar figure appeared between us.
Noctis’s sword flashed once.
The beast collapsed at my feet.
Dead.
I stood motionless, my sword still raised.
For a moment, I couldn’t think of anything to say.
Just how strong is this guy?
I knew Noctis was powerful.
I had seen him fight before, and I had watched him train me with ridiculous ease.
But seeing his strength and understanding the gap between us were two completely different things.
He had killed the beast before it could even touch me.
And he had done so while dealing with the others. The source of this chapter is g.com.
I still didn’t know how many Power Stars he possessed.
He never spoke seriously about his strength, and whenever I asked too many questions, he would change the subject or answer with some ridiculous joke.
But one thing was becoming increasingly obvious.
Noctis wasn’t merely strong.
He was terrifying.
He walked over and casually tapped my shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He glanced at the dead beast.
“Your technique wasn’t bad.
You found its weakness quickly, but your attack lacked power.”
I lowered my sword.
“I noticed.”
“Don’t worry.
You’ll improve.”
I didn’t respond.
I was already thinking about the next time I would face an opponent like this.
If I couldn’t kill a Two-Star Beast with a clean strike, then I needed to find another way.
Raw strength alone wasn’t enough.
I needed better control, better timing, and a more effective use of my abilities.
But before I could think any further, Noctis suddenly turned his head.
“Someone’s following us.”
I immediately became alert.
“How many?”
“Two.”
I tightened my grip on the sword.
“Call them out.”
Noctis smiled.
“Gladly.”
He turned toward the surrounding trees.
“You two can come out now.
I know you’re there.”
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then two figures slowly emerged from behind the trees.
A man and a woman.
The woman had long reddish hair, fair skin, and striking ocean-blue eyes.
Even before she spoke, her presence was unmistakable.
The man standing beside her had golden hair, sharp features, and a well-built physique.
The moment they stepped into view, Noctis looked at them curiously.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We came to hunt,” the woman answered.
Noctis nodded.
“Fair enough.
What are your names?”
The woman spoke first.
“Alice.”
Then the man answered.
“Arthur.”
The moment those two names entered my ears—
Something inside me snapped.
The memories came rushing back.
The desert.
The pain.
My severed arm.
The helplessness I had endured.
And the moment they had abandoned me, leaving me to die alone in the sand.
My grip tightened around the sword.
Before I could think, my body moved.
I lunged toward them.
But I didn’t get far.
Noctis caught me immediately and stopped me in my tracks.
He leaned close to my ear.
“You can’t fight them now.”
His voice was quiet, but there was no room for argument.
I froze.
For a moment, anger threatened to overwhelm my judgment.
Then I forced myself to calm down.
He was right.
I wasn’t ready to fight both of them.
Not yet.
Arthur looked between Noctis and me.
“So, you’re Noctis, and your friend is Nucky?”
Noctis nodded.
“That’s right.”
Alice studied us carefully.
“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”
“We’re new here,” Noctis replied casually.
Alice’s gaze shifted toward me.
“Then why did your friend attack us the moment he saw us?”
Noctis glanced at me.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he turned back toward Alice and Arthur.
“You don’t need to know.”
Arthur frowned.
“What kind of answer is that?”
“The kind you’re getting.”
Noctis smiled as if nothing unusual had happened.
I remained silent.
I had no intention of explaining myself to either of them.
Not here.
Not now.
Suddenly, however, something strange happened.
Black smoke began rising from my body.
I felt a faint vibration in my left hand.
Then a voice echoed inside my mind.
“My Lord…
let me out.”
I froze.
The voice was unfamiliar, yet somehow connected to me.
It sounded as though it had been waiting for this moment.
Before I could think about what I was doing, I answered instinctively.
“Come out.”
The black smoke surged toward my left hand.
It gathered around my palm, twisting and condensing into a solid shape.
A blade.
A black blade emerged from the smoke.
Its surface seemed to swallow the surrounding light, while a dark aura spread through the air.
The moment the weapon appeared, Alice and Arthur reacted.
Both immediately drew their swords.
Their expressions became serious as they prepared for an attack.
But then they felt it.
The terrifying aura radiating from my weapon.
Their faces changed.
For the first time since I had encountered them, I saw something unfamiliar in their expressions.
Fear.
Before either of them could react, an overwhelming pressure descended upon the area.
BANG!
Alice and Arthur were forced to their knees.
Their swords struck the ground.
They tried to move, but their bodies refused to obey.
It was as though an invisible force had crushed them beneath its weight.
I stared at them in disbelief.
I hadn’t even attacked.
I was simply holding the blade.
Yet its presence alone had forced two of the strongest people in the kingdom to kneel.
The feeling was difficult to describe. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
It was as if the blade itself were announcing its arrival to the world.
Sit down.
Bow before me.
Those words weren’t spoken aloud.
But somehow, that was exactly what the aura seemed to demand.
Noctis placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Nucky.
Calm down.
I’m watching them.”
I turned my head toward him.
He was completely unaffected.
The black aura didn’t seem to exert the slightest pressure on him.
He stood beside me as casually as ever, as though nothing extraordinary had happened.
Meanwhile, Alice and Arthur remained kneeling.
I slowly forced myself to calm down.
I didn’t understand this weapon.
I didn’t know why it had appeared, what it wanted, or why it possessed such overwhelming power.
But I knew I didn’t want to lose control of it.
“Go back,” I ordered quietly.
The black blade responded immediately.
“As you command, My Lord.”
The weapon dissolved into black smoke.
The smoke flowed back into my body, disappearing as though it had never existed.
The oppressive aura vanished.
Alice and Arthur could finally breathe normally again, although neither immediately stood up.
I took a deep breath.
Then I turned toward Noctis.
“Let’s leave.”
He glanced at the two people still on the ground.
“What should we do with them?”
“Nothing.”
“All right.”
I turned away and began walking.
I didn’t look back.
There was nothing to gain from staying.
Not yet.
Noctis remained behind for a moment.
He approached Alice and Arthur, then offered them his hands.
“Are you two okay?”
Arthur glared at him.
“What kind of behavior was that?”
Noctis scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“He’s a little upset.”
“A little upset?” Arthur repeated incredulously.
Noctis nodded.
“But he won’t do anything else.
You can relax.”
Arthur looked as though he wanted to argue, but Alice stopped him with a glance.
Noctis helped them stand.
Afterward, he looked at Alice.
“How long have you been here?”
“About two months,” she answered cautiously.
Noctis nodded.
“Same here.”
Alice and Arthur exchanged a brief glance.
They clearly had more questions than answers.
Who was the blindfolded young man?
Why had he attacked them?
What was that black blade?
And how had its aura forced two Two-Star Awakened to their knees without a single direct strike?
Most importantly, why had the weapon called him My Lord?
They couldn’t make sense of what had happened.
Yet neither seemed willing to ask Noctis for an explanation.
Perhaps they suspected that they wouldn’t receive a useful answer.
Noctis smiled and gestured toward the path.
“Come on.
Let’s head back.”
Alice hesitated briefly before following him.
Arthur walked beside her.
The three of them left the forest together, following the path I had taken.
Nearly an hour later, we finally returned to the desert city.
Alex spotted us from a distance and immediately hurried toward us.
The other team members followed close behind.
“You’re back!”
Alex looked us over anxiously.
“Are you injured?
Did the beasts attack you?”
Noctis smiled and stretched his arms.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Then he stepped aside and gestured toward Alice and Arthur.
“If it weren’t for Lady Alice and Lord Arthur’s help, we might not have survived.”
Alex’s eyes widened.
He immediately approached the pair.
“Thank you, Lady Alice.
Thank you, Arthur.
We owe you our lives.”
Alice looked at him quietly.
Arthur remained equally silent.
Neither of them corrected Noctis’s explanation.
Perhaps they were still too confused by what had happened in the forest.
Or perhaps they simply didn’t know what to say.
Noctis, however, seemed completely unconcerned.
He rubbed his stomach.
“Anyway, we’ve been hunting all day.
I think we’ve earned a proper meal.”
Then he turned toward Alice with an innocent smile.
“Lady Alice, would you mind arranging something delicious for us?”
Alice studied him for a moment.
Then she nodded.
“All right.
Follow me.”
Noctis immediately brightened.
“Wonderful!”
He turned toward Alex and waved cheerfully.
“We’ll eat first, then we’ll leave!”
Without waiting for a response, he followed Alice and Arthur toward the city.
I watched them walk away.
My left hand remained still at my side.
Yet I could still remember the strange sensation of the black blade forming in my palm.
Its weight.
Its aura.
And the voice that had called me My Lord.
I had finally drawn the weapon the System had given me.
But instead of answering my questions, it had created even more.
I lowered my head slightly.
What exactly are you?
For a moment, I thought I heard a faint whisper from somewhere deep inside me.
But when I concentrated, there was nothing.
Only silence.
I slowly followed the others.
The blade had returned to my body.
But I knew this wasn’t the last time I would draw it.
In fact, I had a feeling that the next time I summoned it, the consequences might be far more dangerous.