Chapter 27

The boy wore a smile for a moment.
He gripped his bloodstained sword tightly and looked around.

Goblin corpses lay scattered everywhere.
Aside from the three that had fled, he had dealt with every goblin he had faced.

“Euhaha…….”

Serpens wiped the blood from his face.

A disgusting stench rose up, enough to make him gag.
His face, his arms, his clothes.
The problem was the blood smeared all over him.

“Let’s move.”
“Yes.”

Without even a moment to rest, Lucas moved his feet.
Small beads of sweat ran down Serpens’s forehead.

‘I’ve improved a lot.’

The boy clenched his fists.
Did this mean the past month of training had not been in vain?
No, there was no way that time could have been in vain.

Every morning and evening, he had done personal sword training.
In between, stamina training and strength training.
On top of that, sparring with Lucas once a day, sprung on him without warning.
After training hard enough to grind his body down, struggling against mere goblins would actually have been unfair.

“Serpens.”
“Yes.”
“When the three fled, why did you not chase them?”
“Hmm……. I thought chasing them would be inefficient.”
“Inefficient?”
“They’re enemies that don’t seem like they would be a big problem even if I met them again. They weren’t slow enough for me to catch easily, so I judged that chasing them for no reason would only waste stamina.”
“…….”

Lucas stopped walking.
He slowly turned and looked down at Serpens.
His eyes were the same as usual, but whenever a similar situation came up, they doubled the boy’s tension.

“Did you say they do not seem like they would be a big problem even if you met them again?”
“……Yes.”

The boy turned his head and avoided his gaze.
It seemed he had answered wrong.

“Do you know the characteristics of goblins?”
“Characteristics? Hmm……. They’re green, ugly, and dirty. And they use various weapons and don’t go around alone……?”
“Yes. They always move in groups. Then do you know how large those groups are?”

Serpens searched through his memories.
The number he had faced today was twenty.
The goblins he had faced in the past had numbered around fifteen.
If he considered the number Lucas had killed back then……

“Twenty to thirty?”

That amount seemed appropriate.

But Lucas shook his head.
Realizing he was wrong, Serpens felt disappointed, and for some reason, wronged.

“A hundred, when the group is small.”
“A hundred?! That can’t be. The ones I’ve seen so far were-”
“Demonic creatures are as cunning as humans. The ones you faced were merely scouts. They look at the level of the enemy fighting their scouts and decide whether to attack all at once or avoid sacrificing the entire group.”
“But…….”

Even if what Lucas said was true, there was a part he could not understand.
A hundred goblins.
No matter how he thought about it, the boy didn’t think he could overcome that many alone yet.
The goblins surely must have felt that too.
If they were as cunning as humans, could they not have all aimed for him from the start?

“Also, demonic creatures have instincts more developed than humans. The reason they couldn’t target you from the start was because I was there.”
“Ah.”

If that was the case, he could understand a little.
Certainly, if it was Lucas……
Whether there were hundreds or thousands of goblins, he seemed like he could deal with them all at once.
And the energy this man gave off……

‘It’s definitely eerie.’

Serpens scratched his head.
In the end, didn’t that mean he had received Lucas’s help just now too?
If Lucas hadn’t been there, he would have been swarmed by a hundred goblins……

“Shit.”

It was a horrible thing he didn’t even want to imagine.

“Also, there is one more characteristic.”

Lucas took a small handkerchief from his chest.
Far from being pure white, it was a grimy handkerchief that made one doubt whether it had even been washed.

“Oh. Thanks.”

When he tossed the handkerchief to the boy.
Serpens wiped his face with it as if it were nothing.

“They enjoy revenge. If a hundred is not enough, two hundred. If that is not enough, five hundred. If even that is not enough, they may gather more than a thousand and come for revenge.”
“Seriously……?”

The boy hurriedly looked around.
Goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.
He was not afraid of a thousand demonic creatures.
Would Lucas not surely take care of mere goblins?

But paradoxically, what the boy was worried about was Lucas.
If there were a thousand goblins in front of him, was he not the kind of man who would say, “Go kill them. I’ll save you before you die”?
And then he would really save him only right before his breath gave out. Lucas was a man who kept his word far too well.

Step-

Lucas moved first.
At that sight, the boy let out a sigh of relief.

“Thinking they wouldn’t be a big problem even if you run into them again is a careless judgment.”
“…….”

The boy quietly nodded.

“Everything that moves toward a goal is bound to grow. The demonic creatures you let go are the same. When you meet them again in the future, they will surely be a little more difficult to deal with.”
“Yes.”
“From now on, kill every enemy before your eyes. If it is a demonic creature, do not hesitate all the more.”
“I understand.”

His words were cold, but Lucas’s feelings were complicated.

‘I thought he had improved a little…….’

In wielding a sword, the mind was as important as the body and technique.
One had to know how to discard second-best options for what came first, and had to be prepared to see blood in order to protect what was precious.

But Serpens was unable to do that.

“Uuuh……. I took down more than I let get away, though…….”

The boy’s hand holding the sword was trembling.
The boy himself didn’t know it.
No, perhaps he didn’t want to know.
Serpens still hesitated to slaughter.
Even if it was directed at demonic creatures.

‘This has become troublesome.’

The moment one no longer hesitates to slaughter, the sword one swings becomes faster and more accurate.
But in exchange, one loses what is called humanity.

Lucas hoped the boy would not lose his humanity.
When the boy could one day overcome hardships on his own, he wanted him not to become someone like himself.
He hoped the boy would fear seeing blood.

“Serpens.”
“Yes, Lucas.”
“What will you do if someone appears who gets in the way of your goal?”
“Hmm……. How are they obstructing it?”
“There will be those who get in your way somehow. Some will feel like small obstacles, and some will feel like enormous walls.”

The boy scratched his cheek with his finger.
He thought for a moment, then merely shrugged as if he did not know.

“Well, it would be nice if there were no one to get in the way, but that would be impossible, right? After all, the higher the goal is, the greater the obstacles will be.”
“That is right.”
“I’ve been too busy solving the problems right in front of me to worry about future ones……. Well, won’t it somehow work out?”
“…….”

It was a slightly irresponsible thing to say.
But it was also not something he could simply scold.
During the time that had passed, the boy had done everything Lucas told him to do.
He had grumbled, but Lucas knew well that regardless of the result, he had done his best at everything.

‘It will somehow work out…….’

Yes. Perhaps it really would.
Was Serpens’s skill not still at a level where they had to worry about the present, not the future?

Sometimes, being a little irresponsible was how one gained the courage to move on to the next step.

“Yes……. That is true.”

Lucas quickened his slowed steps.
The air was full of moisture.
The direction of the blowing wind changed, and a distinct smell of earth rose up.

It seemed rain would soon fall in the gorge.

Oratio, the empire of humans.
According to the map they had drawn, west of Oratio lay the Calor Empire of the dwarves, and southeast lay the Natura Empire of the elves.

In the vast forest that made up most of the Natura Empire, giant trees over a thousand years old stood tall, and crystal-clear rivers flowed between them.
Around the rivers, flowers of all colors bloomed in full, creating scenery so beautiful that the entire continent seemed like a painting.

The reason Natura’s beauty had not changed even after tens of thousands of years was because of one tree, the beginning of its history, the World Tree.

This enormous tree, called the “Gift of God” among the elves, spread life throughout the entire empire and served as the source of all life.
The area near that World Tree also became a home for the elves.

“So, Viento. I hear you achieved quite good results in this Apex Tournament.”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“No? Did you and Stella not both make it into the top ten?”
“……That is true, but.”

The elven Sword Master Viento.
After finishing the Apex Tournament, he had returned to his empire.

‘This has become troublesome.’

He had not intended to place high in the rankings.
To begin with, he had no desire to participate in the Apex Tournament.
Though it claimed to pursue harmony, everyone knew that it was implicitly an event meant to display each empire’s strength.
And Viento did not want to become the centerpiece of that kind of game.
Of course, he was grateful that he had gotten to meet Lucas, whom he respected, but……

“I believe you will shine even more splendidly for our Natura next year.”
“I will obey your command.”
“Yes, yes. You must be tired, so go rest in the western fields or somewhere.”
“Yes.”

Viento bowed his head and expressed his thanks.
However, he did not move from his place.
His blue-green eyes shone quietly toward the king.

“Do you have nothing more to say, Lord Deus?”

Deus, the king of the elves.
His blond hair, the symbol of elves, held a soft sheen, and his clear lake-colored eyes shone with intelligence.
His appearance carried a sense of age, yet he did not look old at all.
At the smile he lightly wore, wrinkles even Viento, who had lived two thousand years, did not have appeared around his mouth.

“Hmm……. Something more to say.”

Deus looked into the air with a mischievous face.
He had already decided what he would say.
The knight before him also knew that.
But one could not dare urge a king before he opened his mouth.
Only Viento was conscious of the uncomfortable silence.
After enjoying that silence enough, Deus soon opened his mouth.

“So. I hear you met that guy?”
“That guy……?”
“Do not play dumb. I already heard from Stella. They say Lucas Liberator intervened in the match. And I also heard that Lars Musica intervened.”
“Ah…….”

Viento’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
Did that mean others also knew that Lucas’s group had come to the Apex Tournament?
But surely that archmage had used magic……

‘…….’

No, that itself was strange.
The skilled people gathered there numbered in the tens to hundreds.
There were nearly ten who had reached the realm of Master alone.
Using magic to control the consciousness of such people.
If such a person existed, the three continents would have been united long ago.

Suppressing Expert-level fighters was already an astonishing feat.
But anything beyond that was an entirely different realm.
It was a realm even Viento’s common sense could not accept.

“Yes……. I met that person.”
“That person, you say……. How humble.”
“If one lacks skill, one should at least have humility.”
“If you say that, what becomes of our prestige? You are also a being called a Master in your own right.”
“……Before him, titles such as Expert or Master are all meaningless.”
“Hmm……. I see.”

Viento’s mouth closed without being able to speak the next words.
It was a hundred times better not to speak words that were not certain.
Even more so if those words could bring discord.

Deus asked him.

“If that man targets our Natura, can you stop him?”
“……I will try.”
“I see……. You may go back now.”
“Yes.”

Only then did Viento turn around.
The farther he moved from the king, the more complicated emotions spread through his heart like fog.

Lucas Liberator.
Humans, elves, or dwarves.
He could assert that no being could be his match.

That was why, as someone who pursued strength, he felt despair and relief at the same time.
The despair that no matter how hard he tried, he would never reach that strength.
The relief that no matter what demonic creature or demonic human appeared, Lucas would be able to deal with it in the end.

That was why.
Chasing after him had become his lifelong wish.

He devoted himself every day.
Hoping he could reach that level.

He prayed every day.
Praying that the gap with his strength would remain.

Until he met him at the Apex Tournament, his wish had not changed.

‘I clearly…… felt no Aura at all.’

Until the moment that wish had come true in the wrong way.

‘I must correct the balance as it twists.’

Now it was time to take up a new wish.