The dawn sky came into view before Mitchell’s eyes.
Heh heh heh.
Laughter escaped him on its own.
He had thought he was going to die, yet here he was, alive.
‘I didn’t think I’d be able to win.’
Thinking back on his final clash with Barke, it was a miracle that he had opened his eyes like this.
No matter how much Mitchell had poured everything he had into that attack, Barke had been a Grade 5 Aura User.
Grateful simply to be alive, Mitchell groaned as he forced himself upright.
As he sat up, a voice came from nearby.
“How do you feel?”
The one who spoke was Raidric, the older of the twins.
Mitchell moved his cracked lips, the taste of blood lingering on them.
“It hurts, but I’m okay. More importantly, could I have some water.......?”
“Whew, that is a relief. This will probably be better than water right now.”
With that, Raidric handed Mitchell a potion.
It was only a low-grade potion, but that alone was enough to quench his thirst and restore his strength.
“Ahh, I finally feel alive again. Thank you.”
“There is no need to thank me. If anything, we should be thanking you.”
At that moment, Bendric, who had been standing beside them with an excited expression, jumped into the conversation.
“I never imagined you would actually defeat Barke. That was truly incredible!”
“Ah, come to think of it, what happened to the body?”
“This time, we made absolutely certain that he was dead. You do not need to worry. Ah, and what you showed us after dealing with Barke was truly amaz—!”
Bendric looked ready to say more, but closed his mouth when Grant approached from behind.
“You’re awake?”
“Yeah. But why do you look so annoyed?”
“You seriously don’t know?”
Why would he ask if he knew?
Mitchell searched through his memories, wondering whether something had happened, but no matter how much he thought about it, he could not find any reason for Grant to react like that.
After watching Mitchell struggle to remember for a while, Grant finally snapped.
“You smacked me around the back of the head like you were having the time of your life, and now you’re pretending you don’t remember? You were even spouting nonsense in that weird way of talking.”
[Weird way of talking? Nonsense? That bastard! I went to all the trouble of saving him, and that is what he says?!]
Grant and Calian took turns ranting afterward, giving Mitchell a headache, but at least he managed to understand what had happened.
‘So Master entered my body, finished off Barke, and broke apart the combined attack formation.’
And then he had apparently walked over to Grant and lectured him a little.
“I don’t remember it, but none of what he said was wrong. It happened because you haven’t been training properly.”
“What?!”
[Heh heh. It has been a while since you said something I liked.]
After receiving Calian’s praise, Mitchell decided to fulfill the duties of a true disciple and agree with him a little more.
“I was fighting Barke with my life on the line, while you got trapped in a combined attack formation and couldn’t do anything.”
“Th-That was.......”
“You couldn’t even hurry up and help me. Tsk, tsk. No wonder I ended up saying that without realizing it. Do better from now on.”
“.......”
[Hahahaha! Well said, my disciple!]
While Mitchell happily teased Grant into silence as though he had swallowed honey, cheering his master up in the process, he noticed someone standing in front of the inn.
Looking more closely, he saw the innkeeper and the employee who had taken their order.
Mitchell held out his palm toward Grant.
“Give me some money.”
“Why do you suddenly need money?”
“Can’t you see them over there?”
“Ah....... I don’t have anywhere near enough money to cover this. And I already apologized to them earlier and explained that the Family would compensate them.”
“That’s related to you. I’m not a member of the Runei Family yet. I should at least make some kind of gesture myself.”
Grant nodded at Mitchell’s words and pulled a money pouch from inside his clothes.
Just as he was about to hand it over, he seemed to realize something and stopped.
“Wait, why am I paying for your gesture of—”
SNATCH—
Before Grant could finish speaking, Mitchell snatched the money pouch away.
He looked inside, then shook his head.
“This is all?”
“I brought plenty because I thought I’d be staying in the Demonic Region for a long time. Do you have any idea how much money 10 gold is?”
‘Nope. I don’t.’
Mitchell shrugged as he recalled the amount in his account.
He then walked over to the innkeeper and handed him the money pouch.
“I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Ah....... Thank you. But I was told the Runei Family would provide proper compensation.......”
His expression was not particularly good, as though he thought Mitchell meant for him to take this and consider the matter settled.
So Mitchell explained that this was separate from that and merely his own gesture of sincerity.
Only then did the innkeeper’s face brighten.
“Th-Thank you! You really did not have to go this far....... Thank you so much!”
“It might still be dangerous here, so you should head to the village for now.”
At Mitchell’s words, the innkeeper and employee bowed repeatedly before hurriedly leaving for the village.
Only then did Grant walk over with a frown.
“Why are you acting generous with my money?”
“I fought Barke.”
“What does that have to do with the money.......?”
“Nothing, really. But isn’t that the Family Head coming over there?”
“What?!”
Someone was rapidly approaching from the distance.
When he finally arrived, it was Kayden, just as Mitchell had said.
“Father.......”
Grant looked at his father with touched eyes, thinking Kayden had rushed all the way here because of him.
But before anything else, Kayden took the twin guards aside and asked them something.
Then, with a fierce glare, he walked straight toward Mitchell.
‘What? Am I getting scolded too? Did they tell him I just extorted money from Grant?’
Mitchell flinched for a moment, but Kayden immediately bowed his head.
“Thank you. Truly. I have received your help yet again.”
“It’s fine. We’re going to be family soon anyway.”
“What? Hahaha! Yes, we will soon be family. For now, finish your training properly and come back. By the time you return, there should be some progress in the discussions.”
Kayden laughed heartily and patted Mitchell on the shoulder.
Then his expression instantly hardened as he turned toward Grant beside him.
“We will talk once we return.”
He grabbed Grant by the ear and began dragging him away.
It did not hurt particularly badly, but being pulled along by the ear like a child made Grant yelp.
“Ah! Am I a kid?! Why are you pulling my ear?!”
“Exactly. You’re not some damn kid, so why are you running away from home? Just shut up and come along.”
The father and son climbed into the carriage, and the twins soon bowed toward Mitchell as well.
“Thank you once again. When you return, allow us to treat you to a meal.”
“My brother is one hell of a cook too. You will not regret it.”
With those words, the twins climbed onto the driver’s seat and set the carriage moving.
Mitchell waved as he watched the carriage disappear into the distance, then turned back around.
“Hmm.......”
Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sun had already fully risen.
He had already gotten all the sleep he needed, so it seemed better to simply set off.
Just as Mitchell was about to move, Calian’s voice reached his ears.
[Have you not forgotten something?]
“Forgotten something?”
[Your luggage. Your luggage.]
Mitchell turned his head.
The flames had died down, but the ruins of the inn were still filled with intense heat.
“Let’s just go. According to the map, there’s a village at the entrance to the Demonic Region.”
[What do you mean, just go? Have you forgotten what was inside your luggage?]
“It was only clothes and camping supplies....... Ah! The black bottle!”
[I am glad you remembered. The bottle was treated with magic, so this degree of heat and impact should not have damaged it.]
At those words, Mitchell hurried toward the remains of the inn.
He pushed away the heat with dark Aura and searched through the wreckage, only finding the black bottle after his entire body had become covered in soot.
“Got it. I’m leaving now!”
[Good. Let us go.]
With only the black bottle and his sword, Mitchell started toward the Demonic Region again.
Even while stepping according to the footwork of Ghost Soul Steps, his movements now flowed naturally.
[Good grief. To think you completely mastered it after a single real battle.]
“I’m almost starting to feel grateful to Barke. But Master, about you entering my body. Could you always do that? You’ve just been deliberately choosing not to take it from me until now?”
[If that were possible, I would already be using your body. I was only able to attempt it because you had lost consciousness. Moreover, forcing your body to move threw my energy into such turmoil that I feel as though I am dying. I feel as though I could dissipate at any moment, so erase those ridiculous suspicions from your mind.]
“No, that’s not what I meant.......”
Mitchell trailed off.
He was not actually suspicious.
He had only wondered whether they might be able to use it again next time.
“I was thinking that if you used my body when the enemy wasn’t expecting it, wouldn’t you be able to deal with most opponents?”
[Nonsense! Did you not hear what I just said? It was barely possible because you were unconscious. What would you have done if, instead of losing consciousness, your head had been cut off?]
“Hmm, still doesn’t sound too bad.”
[Hoho, you intend to rely on a fluke and try it again? Go ahead and try. I shall kill you myself before that happens.]
“No, I was just saying.”
Mitchell gave an awkward laugh and quickly changed the subject.
Now that he had learned Ghost Soul Steps and the Forgotten Soul Movement Art to some extent, he remembered something Calian had mentioned before.
“By the way, what’s the gift? You said you’d give me something if I mastered the footwork before reaching the Demonic Region.”
[Ah, that? Well, there is no harm in starting now. A promise is a promise, after all.]
Mitchell’s anticipation rose at Calian’s words.
What could possibly be waiting for him this time?!
[Take out the black bottle.]
“Oh, we’re finally using it!”
Mitchell pulled the bottle from his waist, and Calian immediately continued.
[Drink it.]
“What? Didn’t you say this was poison?”
[It is poison. It is merely a poison beneficial to you.]
Even so, telling him to drink poison.......
Seeing the reluctance written all over Mitchell’s face, Calian recalled everything he had seen of him so far and immediately found a way to persuade him.
[I shall tell you what it is first. That is an elixir made by processing Corpse Poison through a special method. More precisely, it only functions as an elixir for those who wield the Sword of Death. However, it will be quite painful. An ordinary person would probably beg to be killed.]
“An elixir.......?”
Look at him. He already looked as though he was salivating.
Mitchell seemed to have erased the part about agonizing pain from his mind and merely repeated the word “elixir” as though entranced.
Calian decided Mitchell was already halfway convinced and drove in the final nail.
[Now, choose. Will you refuse the elixir and slowly increase your dark Aura, or will you increase your dark Aura quickly even if the pain feels like death? Well, if you are still afraid, you can take the slower—]
POP—
Before Calian could even finish, the bottle opened.
Mitchell immediately gulped down its contents.
“Ghk!”
The pain came instantly.
Every organ in his body felt as though it were burning away.
Every blood vessel seemed to contract and then expand.
His pores alternated wildly between an icy chill and scorching heat.
As his vision gradually blurred, Mitchell hurriedly asked Calian what to do next.
“Wh-What do I do now?”
[You must use Ghost Soul Steps all the way to the entrance of the Demonic Region. That will help you control the energy more effectively. If you can manage that, I shall guide the rest of the energy myself.]
Mitchell had no time even to answer before he began performing Ghost Soul Steps.
And so, for an entire week—
Enduring maddening pain while simultaneously savoring the satisfaction of his expanding Aura Hole, Mitchell finally arrived at the village at the entrance to the Demonic Region.