It had been six months since Burdell received orders to find the king’s brother and ventured into the southern mountains. Perched atop a giant tree, Burdell looked down below and sighed inwardly.
Beneath the massive tree was a giant puma, its size as large as an average thatched cottage, sprawled across the area. Its size was intimidating, but more importantly, the beast possessed enough leaping power to cover a distance of at least 30 meters, able to jump onto the branches with a single bound.
If it weren’t for his clothes made from the skin of the Tohiren, used since his days in the forest of the beastly demons…
“It would have spotted me immediately by scent.”
Although Burdell could take it down, unless he could penetrate the puma’s eyes and shatter its brain in one strike, all monsters nearby would swarm him – each as strong as the finest knights.
How did he know?
Because he had experienced that wretched situation himself just two months ago, which left him fleeing all the way back to the entrance of the southern mountains. As a result, he had no choice but to start the path toward the depths again from scratch.
“I’m sick of it. I thought I’d seen all the horrors the forest could offer…”
While the hardships of the forest were still fresh in his mind, he had this ominous feeling that a few more months here would change his mind.
Then finally…“There it is!”
Next to where the giant puma had passed, there was a trail of trampled bushes. In this forest, where everything was abnormally large, only a human-sized creature could leave such a trail. Since entering the deep southern mountains, Burdell hadn’t encountered any creature smaller than himself.
Which meant…
“It’s a trace of Prince Ronian. I’ve finally caught up with him.”
Burdell couldn’t understand why the prince would choose to hide in such a perilous place.
Regardless of his inability to understand the prince’s motives, his duty was separate, and he committed himself fully to the mission. After all, his sovereign had promised noble status if he truly became a superhuman on top of teaching him the way and granting knighthood.
“Here I go.”
The moment his will surged, Burdell’s body sprang silently on to the opposite branch with no sound.
Six months in the mountain range.
He felt like his agility and stealth skills, which had already been threatening the limits of a superhuman archer, were improving. All thanks to the teachings from Felix Esperanza, the “Phantom Shadow,” combined with decades of hunting supernatural beasts.
To Burdell’s slight dismay, this was not entirely a pleasing development.
“I want to go home.”
He longed for the cozy mansion in Grang City, not the humble abode near the beastly forest, but…
“To finish my mission first. Focus!”
With a slight frown, Burdell shook off his reverie and continued to follow the tracks below.
His vision, already sharp, had improved as he ascended in his training, allowing him to see details from dozens of meters away with clarity.
Confidently scanning the terrain, he reaffirmed the continuation of the traces.
“They’re close. Definitely living nearby.”
Burdell’s pupils quivered slightly.
The end of this dreary mission was finally in sight.
Unaware, his footsteps quickened just a bit. It only took him about thirty minutes since finding the first trace in the bushes before he stumbled upon a cavern that resembled a giant animal’s den.
Despite being perched on a branch of a huge tree hundreds of meters away from the cave, and despite the pitch-black darkness inside, these were no obstacles for him.
“Kae-an (Opening Eyes).”
His unique way of wielding force, concentrating it on his eyes and enhancing his vision further. The light from the force pierced through the dark distances, revealing the inside of the cave.
And there, finally, Burdell saw what he had been seeking.
“A person!”
A cry of triumph escaped his lips involuntarily, and his fists clenched in a reaction he would have surely restrained had he been in his prime back in the beastly forest – but he did not even realize he’d made a mistake.
The consequence was immediate.
“Swish.”
A soft sound – but what followed sent chills down his spine.
Burdell instinctively sensed the danger and leaped from the branch downward.
Then, a tremendous explosion erupted where he had been standing. He turned in mid-air to see a gargantuan monster snake with eyes as large as a human torso, its vertical pupils oozing malintent and trying to paralyze his movements.
Luckily, encounters with strange beasts like this weren’t new to Burdell – especially in matters of sight, for he boasted adaptability surpassing that of a superhuman.
With an increase of his force, he shook off the snake’s oppressive gaze with ease.
“Should have called it the Giansuroom (Giant Beast Forest).”
He wondered at what point the snake had crept up behind him. Comparison with the beastly forest emerged in his mind as he drew his bow in mid-air.
After tumbling dozens of meters down from a sudden assault, he instantly twisted his posture and released the arrow without hesitation. The arrowhead, with a force blade, or rather force shot, lit up in red.
“Whoosh.”
“Boom!”
“Kieeeeek!”
But unfortunately, the first shot merely bounced off the snake’s eyelid.
“What?!”
Even considering its size was fantastical, the idea of a snake’s eyelid deflecting a force shot powerful enough to pierce rock was absurd. Barely processing this shock, Burdell rolled swiftly across the ground.
“Whirrr.”
The grass where he lay a moment ago was dissolving amidst white smoke – touched by venom that had dripped from the snake’s gaping maw.
“Damn it. That size and a venom that brings instant death too? How?”
There was no time to dwell on thoughts.
“Kyaaao!”
The colossal snake sprang from its perch, moving with a flexibility and speed that belied its size.
“Tch!”
Burdell stepped back from the venomous mist and fired a succession of arrows. Each hit its target – the descending snake’s head – with alternating assets of penetration and explosion.
“Clang. Clang.”
“Swish, swish, swish.”
Only one arrow managed to inflict a deep wound on the snake’s eyelid, the rest ineffectively bouncing off.
‘This is seriously messed up.’
As the snake’s malice became even thicker and more menacing, Burdell realized he was no longer just prey; he was facing a formidable foe.
‘This is really bad.’
Feeling cold sweat slide down his spine, he poured as much force as he could into his bow and arrow. The bow made from the horn of the beast Grindel, and the string made from Garen’s a powerful tendon vibrated with his force, enhancing its elasticity to the extreme. The force shot concentrated at the arrowhead, taking the previous failure into account and further intensifying its penetrating power.
“One shot.”
He had to penetrate the snake’s eye and brain with a single shot.
He parted his lips slightly to regulate his breathing, and let drool flow without care – it’s better to look ridiculous for a moment rather than risk even little vibration capable of disrupting his aim.
But just then, a drop of sweat wound its way from his brow, through his eyebrow, and into his eye.
Involuntarily blinking in that brief moment.
“Swish.”
“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.”
For an instant, the snake’s head appeared to swell, then vomited a waterfall of green liquid – the venom.
“Blast it!”
Burdell reflexively fired his arrow, cutting through the tide of venom and rolled to the side.
“Ssssss.”
Yet, along with a faint sound, he saw his leather boots smoldering.
At that moment, Burdell’s eyes widened.
“The leather of Tohiren destroyed that easily?”
The venom effortlessly bore a hole through his most resistant equipment, and just a drop brushed his shin.
His leg stiffened, and he felt numbness spreading. Burdell screamed in his mind.
He was dying.
Killed by venom from a snake.
‘To die without completing my mission, by the likes of a snake?’
A spark flared in his eyes.
Extreme crisis, disappointment in himself, rage at the enemy, and despair.
All those tangled emotions exploded into a towering will.
“I refuse to die here by a mere snake!”
At that moment, the force enveloping the arrow in his hand condensed anew, emanating a divine light.
The force, pulled without regard for life or death, breached its limits and wrought a miracle.
But his resolve couldn’t last long.
His vision blurred, and he felt the force draining like an ebbing tide.
‘No, not like this!’
As the enormous head of the snake approached, Burdell’s eyes flew open.
“Boom!”
Before him, something ‘orange’ suddenly struck with tremendous force into the snake’s head.
The massive body of the beast was thrown back, tumbling inconsolably in the distance.
“Kyaaaak!”
“Which person is it?”
The curiosity and joy embedded in those words spoken in the familiar shared language of the continent – could they have ever sounded sweeter?
The familiar red-haired face made it clear to Burdell that he had indeed found his objective.
“Oh, uh….”
But he couldn’t respond; his blurred vision and unresponsive body gave him no means to speak.
‘No, not like this.’
He felt like he was sinking deep into the earth, his consciousness fading, but Burdell struggled to open his eyes again.
It seemed to him that he saw an incredible scene – the monstrous snake was being sliced by a brilliant orange aura, filling the sky and the earth.
But that was the extent of his consciousness.
* * *
“Hey….”
“Are you… coming to?”
Voices came through hazily.
The once distant voices grew clearer and clearer.
“Look here! Wake up. I know you’re conscious!”
With that clear voice piercing crisply in his ear, Burdell suddenly opened his eyes widely and raised himself up.
“Whoa! The, the snake!?”
“The snake? Oh, most of it is outside. And some are here and in your stomach.”
The young man with red hair and eyes lifted a chunk of meat roasting on the fire, smiling.
Burdell, still feeling hazy, recognized what it was. He inadvertently blurted out a hunter’s quip.
“Snake meat with venom shouldn’t be eaten so casually…”
“It’s tastier than it looks. Plus, eating this snake’s gall grants immunity to its venom. That’s how you survived, after all.”
“Ah? Oh! My leg…!”
Reassured by the jest, Burdell glanced down at his lower body and sighed in relief.
A small burn-like mark and the slight soreness from it – feeling that pain was such a relief.
How fortunate. Grateful.
He couldn’t articulate the emotion, but his body trembled slightly.
He could feel his legs, which brought him more joy than the fact that he had survived – although it was a ludicrous idea, the pain in his legs was more real, helping him to grasp the situation.
He looked up after a moment to find the young man offering him a piece of meat, which carried an enticing, earthy scent.
“Eat it. It will help you recover. It’s nice to meet a person after such a long time.”
“Ah… Th-thank you.”
Still somewhat dazed, he accepted the meat; the realization that he had survived sank in anew.
Burdell sighed in relief again and looked around, noticing strange figures and text spreading beyond the dim light of the fire.
“…Huh?”
Concentrating, he could see the engravings on the cave walls – depicting a figure holding a sword with descriptions around it. Although not a fencer, Burdell could tell at a glance that the figure held extraordinary inner strength.
The word ‘Aura’ seemed to be written most frequently.
“How is it? It’s extraordinary, isn’t it? It’s an advanced sword technique only Aura users can learn. And the person who wrote this claims it’s top-tier. Used to be called the Sword Saint.”
“…Excuse me?!”
That high-level sword technique, a legend in the imperial family or the old fighting houses, here in a cave?
“It’s surprising, isn’t it? I was quite shocked myself. That’s why I’ve been staying here for over a year now. Haha.”
“Oh, I mean, should you just tell me about it… even if…”
“So what about it? Clearly, you’re not a swordsman. Are you going to start learning swordsmanship now?”
His casual attitude was so astonishing that Burdell was at a loss for words.
“Oh, but, even if I might spread rumors…”
“Are you going to?”
“That’s not my intention, but…”
“Haha! Then there’s no problem. And it doesn’t matter if others learn it. It seems like the Sword Saint intentionally left it here for others to find. Whether anyone can actually learn it just by looking at it, that’s another matter.”
“Uh…”
His confident tone and the casual ease it conveyed left Burdell once more in amazement.
‘It wasn’t a hallucination.’
The image of the glowing orange aura shredding the monstrous snake resurfaced in his mind as the young man suddenly asked,
“So, with decent skills like yours, what brings you to the depths of the southern mountains? Since you’re not carrying much, it seems like hunting or gathering herbs isn’t the goal.”
“Ah!”
Burdell suddenly remembered his mission.
He felt his stomach churn in response to the query that reminded him why he had come here, but this was his life-saver and his mission target as well.
After a brief sigh, Burdell began to…