Chapter 6

Killip Gorge.
A place teeming with countless monsters, where criminals came to hide their tracks.
Killip Gorge was a place even most strong individuals were reluctant to visit alone.

“We have arrived! Those carrying cargo, hurry and disembark first!”

The port of Killip Gorge.
Many people passed over the waterlogged ground.

Splash.

“Ah.”

He had stepped in a puddle.
Serpens frowned as he looked at the hem of his pants, which had changed color.
He had not planned to wear them carefully, but he had even less intention of ruining his clothes in such a ridiculous way.

“Do not mind trivial things. Stay close and follow me.”
“Yes.”

Lucas moved toward the gorge at a rather fast pace.
Because human hands had barely touched it, nature there went beyond beautiful and became almost bewitching.
If they walked leisurely and the brat touched something strange, it would become troublesome.
A monster’s ambush or attack. Such things did not matter.
Those would not become variables.
But if he stepped into danger on his own…….

‘That would be the variable.’

If he touched a highly poisonous plant or fell somewhere strange, things would become troublesome.
That was why Lucas increased his pace.
To eliminate troublesome variables.

“You said this place was dangerous, but there are quite a lot of people here.”

Serpens asked.
According to Lucas, it was one of the most dangerous places.
But there were strangely many people who had disembarked here.

“If they achieve their purpose and make it out alive, one could say a better life is guaranteed. It means they are willing to risk danger to make a living.”

The corpses of monsters became money.
The mysterious abilities of monsters, such as breathing fire or flying through the sky.
Those abilities also affected parts of their corpses.
Materials harder than iron. Ingredients that could enhance physical abilities.
The Mandragora seed Serpens had eaten was one such case.

“I see……”

Serpens could roughly understand.
Entering a restaurant full of guards when one was on the verge of starving to death.
Perhaps it was something like that.

The two continued walking.
No matter where he looked, he saw only the same grass and trees.
Thick leaves covered the sky, and sweat formed like rain in the high humidity.

Shff.

Lucas quietly raised his right hand.
A signal to stop. It meant there was something nearby.

After seeing the signal, Serpens moved his eyes.
Was it in front?
Or behind?
Serpens did his best to ignore his pounding heart.

“Hoo…….”

He closed his eyes and opened his ears.
He maintained his tension and focused all his nerves on the sounds he could hear.

Saaah.
Rustle.

A faint, ominous sound mixed into the blowing wind.

Crack. Rustle. Crack.

The footsteps whose owners he could not identify increased one by one.

“Serpens. Grip your sword.”

Lucas said in a quiet voice.

Shring.

“What do you think my purpose was in bringing you here?”
“To train me, right?”
“Are you prepared?”
“You know I am.”

Rustle.

The footsteps sped up and approached.
Light yet sharp, not one but dozens of feet rushed toward the two.

“We will start simply. Kill only ten.”
“Kill?”
“Monsters. Goblins.”

Whoosh!

Lucas’s sword moved.
A sword strike that cut through the entire area. Falling trees and severed bushes.
Unable to even react, the boy’s eyes widened fully.

‘I couldn’t see it……!’

He had definitely been looking at Lucas.
The raised right hand.
The signal to stop, then to grip his sword. What came next was obvious. It meant he was supposed to kill the enemies that appeared.
That was why Serpens had been staring at his hand.
But the boy had not seen even the motion of Lucas gripping the sword, let alone the motion of cutting.

“Focus.”

Serpens’s head whipped around.
Between the trees falling after being cut in half.
An alien green monster came into sight.

Kyarureuk!

“Fucking hell!”

Kraaak!

A green monster with a human-like form. A goblin.
The dagger-wielding goblin drooled as it coveted the boy’s throat.

Clang!

The dagger and sword collided, producing a scraping sound.

Swish.

Another goblin’s attack came in immediately after.
He twisted his sword and blocked the attack aiming for his abdomen.

‘This is impossible.’

It was a rather heavy force.
For a grown man, it would be about the same as a dog charging at him. But that was only for a grown man.
For a twelve-year-old brat, the impact was closer to a leopard charging at him.

Serpens’s eyes searched for a way out.
He had no chance in a head-on fight.
His skill compared to the enemy was even, or perhaps lower.
Unless there was an overwhelming gap in skill, no one could stand against being ganged up on.

Dadadada.
Kyarareuk!

He kept running while swinging his sword.
The distance was somehow maintained. But it was only a temporary measure.
Just as Serpens was searching for a method, the goblins were also searching for a way to go for the boy’s throat.
In the end, it was a contest of time. He had to find a method faster than those chasing him.
It was a situation far too familiar to Serpens.

‘A method……’

The fear chasing him. It was as if his breath had been blocked.
Running while swinging a sword consumed a great deal of stamina, and if he threw away the sword, his feet were slower than the monsters.
He could not only keep running away.
One at a time, slowly. Surely.

Pat!

Serpens suddenly turned his body.
The green monster was right in front of him.

Slice.

The sword he swung without a precise target cut the enemy’s lower body.
Blood gushed out.
Serpens instinctively avoided the spray of blood and ran once more.

Kreurak!

The goblin whose lower body had been cut collapsed with a miserable scream.

“Heok……. Heoeok…….”

The acrid smell of blood.
It was a smell quite different from the Horn Wolf’s.
If the Horn Wolf’s was the blood of a beast, this was filth.

“Urk.”

He had to endure the dizziness.
If his speed slowed, he would be eaten.

Dark red blood dripped from the tip of Serpens’s sword.

Amid his hazy mind, one question suddenly came to him.
What was the bastard who had thrown him into this chaos doing?

Pat. Stab-

Even after that, he dodged the goblins’ attacks and thrust out his sword.
Serpens’s sword pierced through an enemy’s neck.
The blood that poured out as if bursting, and the sight of the goblin flailing in pain.
Unable to bear watching, he hurriedly pulled out his sword.

“Haa……. Haa…….”

Suddenly, Serpens turned his head.
The place he looked at while fleeing. Lucas was there.

“That guy……?!”

Lucas’s figure was reflected in his shaking eyes.
Amid the corpses of what looked like dozens of goblins, he sat in an unwavering posture, staring at Serpens.

Eyes in which no vitality could be found.
At those eyes, in which not a trace of expectation could be found, something in Serpens’s chest stirred.

‘Yeah, yeah. Keep watching like that. Watch carefully and don’t miss a single moment.’

Whatever the case, this situation was also a kind of training.
In the sense that his life was at stake, it was also a kind of real battle.

Whoosh.

This time, the sword cut through empty air.
Was it because his stomach had turned?
Was his stamina the problem?
It felt as if his sense of distance had broken.

A sword he had thought would be able to cut.
That was why his anger doubled the moment it cut through empty air.

‘This sword won’t work. I need a slightly lighter weapon, one that’s easier to use……!’

A longsword was a weapon more than enough to neutralize a goblin if the attack succeeded.
The problem was that it had not been long since he first gripped a sword, and the only thing he had practiced was the motion of cutting from top to bottom.

At that moment, one method crossed Serpens’s mind.

‘If it’s that……’

A goblin rushed at him without giving him a moment to rest.
The small weapon held in the monster’s hand came into sight.

Kyarureuk!

He steadied his heart and took his stance.
The distance to the charging goblin was short, so he had to hurry.

‘Step lightly and find my balance.’

Tap.

‘Put strength into it as if cutting down a great mountain. At my skill level, precision is greed. Let’s focus only on the thought of cutting the monster.’

When he lifted the sword he held above his head, the entire world seemed to slow.
The blowing wind,
the falling leaves,
the saliva of the lunging goblin,
even Lucas’s gaze flowed several times slower.
In that moment when an instant seemed as if it would become eternity.

“Huuup!”

Slice.

Serpens’s sword cut the goblin.
It was not an accident, but an intended movement.

Spurt!

For the first time, the bursting spray of blood felt thrilling.
But there was no time to enjoy the emotion.

‘Seven now.’

Goblin blood splashed beneath his eye.
The disgusting warmth twisted Serpens’s stomach even further.

Clatter!

The boy dropped his sword.
The foot he stepped out with once more was not for running away.

Pat.

He picked up the dagger of the monster he had dealt with.
The goblins were coming toward him. He had run toward them.
One movement filled the boy’s head.
He could kill at least two, perhaps three.
It was a gamble with his life as collateral, but he did not have enough strength left in his arms to keep running.

Swoosh.
Slice.

He moved as if sliding across the ground and cut down another goblin.
The cut was far shallower, but the location was the neck.
Even if it was not instant death, it was enough to render it unable to move.

Crack.

“Kkeuk!”

One goblin’s wooden club struck Serpens’s left arm.
Pain as if his muscles were tearing. It was bearable.
Had being struck by pieces of wood not been part of his daily life?

Kyarureuk!

His body shrank from the pain.
The goblin didn’t miss the chance and pounced on Serpens.

Whoosh.
Thunk.

The attack came in once more. Serpens’s trembling hand caught the attack.
It felt as if his palm had broken.
At the very least, it was certain that everyday life would be inconvenient for a while.

“Uaaaaaah!”

Stab.

Serpens’s dagger stabbed the enemy’s neck.
The muscles in his arm screamed.
It was likely because he had suddenly used his muscles too much.

Stab. Stab.

Once again, then once more.
Without knowing whether the opponent he was stabbing had already died, he kept stabbing.

Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab.

The one wielding merciless violence was Serpens.
But the one who was frightened was also Serpens.

All of his actions until now had been movements born from instinct.
Twisting his body to attack, dodging as if sliding, even thinking that he should do so.
All of it came from the instinct not to die.
That was the will to survive.
Unfortunately, the will that moved the boy had, before he knew it, changed into the fear that he had to survive.

Around the time the twelve-year-old boy’s body was covered in red blood, Lucas approached and spoke quietly.

“Stop.”

After confirming his violently trembling body, Lucas used his rough hand to separate Serpens from the corpse.

‘Did he panic……?’

Even though his eyes had lost focus, he did not let go of the dagger in his hand.
It was a good attitude.
Because, unless there was a special circumstance, it was always better to keep holding one’s sword.

“This is enough.”

The remaining goblins fled.
There was no need to chase them. They would not become a danger later.
For now, confirming Serpens’s sword was enough.

‘What a pitiful sword.’

There are many kinds of swords in the world.
A sword for protecting something.
A sword for cutting something.
A sword for gaining profit.
A sword for preventing loss.
Many more kinds of swords than these determine their own paths.

But Serpens’s sword was different from those Lucas had seen until now.
It was not for protecting something, nor for taking something.

‘A sword…… for survival.’

Of course, it was not a bad sword.
Because a sword was something a person had lived and would live with, so from the beginning, it was not something that could be divided into good or bad.
In one sense, it could also be seen as a good sword.
It was a sword everyone passed through, but also a sword everyone inevitably lost.
Because it was the sword that formed the foundation of everything, the branches that could extend from it were limitless.
Even if it did not extend its branches and simply remained as it was, it was not a bad sword.
However, was this sword not too much for the boy?
Both mentally and physically.

But if he had the will to overcome that burden,
if he did not avoid hardship and stubbornly overcame it,
he would bear fruit greater than the burden had been.

Lucas did not like hasty judgments,
but if the boy continued to show such firmness,
Lucas felt that he could surely become a talent superior to others.

‘Of course, that would be in the distant future……’

“Uaaaa……. Uuuuh…….”

Serpens had already lost consciousness.
Expecting him to wake up soon would be futile.
The boy needed rest.

“Rest.”

A short word.
No answer came back.

Thump.

Serpens’s limp head touched Lucas’s waist.
That was enough.

‘The way he stubbornly refused to lose consciousness is worth acknowledging.’

Shff.

Lucas lifted the sleeping boy into his arms.
He picked up Serpens’s sword that had fallen to the ground and moved his feet.

Because this place, stained with blood, was not suitable for the boy’s rest.