It was raining. Gray clouds covered the sky, and raindrops poured down onto the earth. They fell into the forest, onto the leaves of the trees and the soil. They fell on a mysterious, abandoned hut deep in the forest that no one knew about.
It was a simple wooden hut. It had only one room. It had a roof. There was a door and a window next to it. There was no glass in the window. The hut was small, but it looked like a house. Maybe that's why it was abandoned. Perhaps due to architectural mistakes.
Or maybe for other reasons—who knows?
This brown wooden house kept out some of the cold and prevented rain from coming in. Of course, if the wind was strong enough and blowing in the right direction, water would inevitably pour in through the windows.
Inside the hut, a young man with brown hair opened his eyes on the ground where he was lying. There was a softness on his back and chest. It felt like wool. He felt his hair touch his nose. His brown hair had grown long and started to cover his face. It tickled the back of his neck.
After waiting in the darkness for a long time, he remembered that he would never see the light again.
'Where am I?'
The question suddenly flashed through his mind. But when he tried to get up, he felt a terrible pain in his chest.
He knew this pain. He had been hurt. One more time.
He realized that he was wearing animal fur. And the one underneath. Apparently, Kasuur had brought him here, but Mais was surprised for a moment that he had the courage to go into the forest and hunt a few animals.
Then he remembered that Kasuur had always done this. Kasuur had grown up in the village, and as a strong boy, he had his work cut out for him. He might hesitate to kill people, but he never hesitated to kill animals.
"You think it's that easy?!"
Suddenly, Mais heard a roar like thunder outside. He knew it was Kasuur. At that moment, he threw off his fur and tried to stand, holding onto the staff beside him.
He sort of crawled. By the time he reached the window, raindrops were beginning to hit his face. The cold outside made him shiver. Despite his strong body and understanding of the cold, he was still affected by it. Apparently, he was badly hurt. Not only physically. It was probably related to his temporary sense of the earth. He wondered how Kasuur had managed to keep him alive.
Mais couldn't see, but one could imagine that Mais would have been horrified to see his wounds stitched up so horribly. Kasuur had riddled him with holes.
"Were you experimenting on me?!"
After feeling his body, the little boy realized the extent of his wounds.
He wrapped the fur around himself, calmed down, and headed for the door of the hut. He went out without thinking about the cold rain.
FIUUUU...
Instantly, he felt a wave of Origin Energy coming toward him. Of course, Mais had not reached the Origin Energy Realm, but he was on its verge, and with his experience, he could quickly figure out what origin energy was.
Was Kasuur fighting an Origin Master?
No, there was a shadow under the rain. He was the source of the origin energy, but he was someone Mais knew. It was Kasuur himself. His fierce shouts made it impossible not to recognize him.
The waves of origin energy were unstable. Kasuur had reached the Origin Energy Realm, but he was a novice at controlling it. The bright white sword in his hand was what made him move with such power. Even in the rain and darkness, Mais could tell it was Jong's origin weapon without seeing him. Was Jong dead? Curiosity gripped him for a moment. These powerful origin energy waves were undoubtedly coming from an origin weapon. The only origin weapon they had recently seen and had access to was Jong's sword.
Had Kasuur randomly found an origin weapon in the forest?
Maybe his attack had really killed Jong. Had Kasuur killed him after he fainted?
But he didn't think to ask about that. After all, Jong was dead either way. Mais had poisoned him.
Mais was an alchemist. Even blind, he could make pills without a second thought. There could only be a few master alchemists in the town, so how could anyone here tell whether the pills were poisoned or clean?
The pill Mais made was the Heart Pox pill, which looked like the common Temporary Strengthening Pill, a pill known only to a few alchemists. It was just a coincidence that the leader of the expedition had seen the Temporary Strengthening Pill before. Mais had only made it in the unlikely event that they encountered an alchemist.
From the very beginning, Mais had planned to kill the origin master who had come with them to kill the barbarians and escape. He didn't want anyone who knew too much about them to live. Perhaps the prince's identity would not be revealed in a small town, and only a few people in the city would suspect him. However, if a state city envoy heard about it, disaster could befall him.
State cities were the fulcrum of kingdoms and empires, boasting populations much larger than those of normal cities. They governed many cities and communicated with their kings and emperors about current events. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that they were centers of states.
The people in this region could be terrifying experts. Mais knew that they could catch him like a bug as soon as they found out the truth.
Still, the town sheriff was a Stage 9 Origin Master. Mais didn't actually want to kill Jong, as killing his daughter would mean he would come after them directly. Unfortunately, Jong chose to become their enemy.
That pill was one of those corrupted pills that made you slightly stronger at the cost of your life. Its effect was so small compared to your life that Mais considered it worthless, but it was the perfect pill for practice. The ingredients were cheap. Cheap pills wouldn't attract the attention of the figures in the palace, and they wouldn't realize that Mais was an alchemist.
Mais threw all this away. At that moment, he wanted to know who Kasuur was fighting. These screams and attacks did not sound like a training battle.
Mais wanted to sense the steps and movements, but he couldn't hear the opponent's footsteps.
She was too small. She looked like an insect next to Kasuur's childish fatness. Her red fur showed that she had a unique appearance for her species. She had three tails! Mais couldn't believe a cat could have three tails. But he couldn't. He didn't realize that the cat was looking at him as she dodged Kasuur's sword attacks. She looked into Mais's blind eyes.
Immediately, she lunged at Mais.
"Bullshit!"
Fat Kasuur cursed when he saw Mais coming out of the hut, wounded as he was. But Mais's emergence caused the cat to leave an opening.
FLUSH!
The cat running toward Mais was cut in half by Kasuur's sword. In her eyes, she was still dreaming of reaching Mais. But Kasuur wouldn't let her.
He knew there were monsters in the forest that used illusions to make others fall. That was why he fought her, even though he knew she was an Origin Beast. If she could lure him into her trap, she could kill him. For the same reason, he couldn't let her get to Mais.
The cat split in two, and its blood splashed into Mais' gray eyes. Nothing happened because of the blood, and Mais felt nothing but the blood on his face, which felt slightly warm.
He knew, of course, that the blood had reached his face and that Kasuur had killed his enemy. He was someone who had seen the Trace of the Tao. After the blood splashed on his face, he could easily understand what it was.
"Why did you come out? Do you think I know what to do if you catch a fever?" Kasuur asked in a worried voice. He pointed his sword at the sky. This fat boy may have had a strong moral code when it came to killing people, but he was a ruthless killer of animals. His sword was already covered in blood, yet he wasted no time trying to clean it with the rain.
"You didn't have to kill her."
"I had to."
At that moment, Mais felt they had switched roles. He didn't argue any further. He turned around and started walking back to the hut. His wet hair was in his eyes. This made him uncomfortable.
"Don't worry. I'm awake, so I can take care of myself. You have entered the Origin Energy Realm."
"I have, and I'm quite strong with the sword," Kasuur said. He had a nice smile, and with his wet, green hair, he stood out. With his belly and white sword, he looked rather ridiculous.
He was neither a hero nor a villain. He didn't look like a side character either. He was a combination of completely ridiculous things.
A worried expression appeared on his face again. He pushed Mais from behind so as not to drop him.
"You should still go inside. It's cold and wet out here. You need to get better. I'll follow you."
Mais said nothing. He wanted to look into Kasuur's eyes. He wondered what he looked like, but that desire ended at that moment. He should no longer wonder about such a thing. He turned his back on the stranger and headed for the hut in the rain. He was in such a pathetic state that he didn't even know if the hut was still there.
He felt Kasuur's footsteps following him.
SIP...
SIP...
SIP—
The footsteps stopped. Mais stopped as well. At that moment, they both sensed danger, making their souls tremble.
'Run!'
At that moment, Mais was more aware. Even though his body was frozen and white, he could shout inside his mind. But he did not run. He turned around with difficulty. He felt a terrible aura rising in the darkness.
It came from behind Kasuur. A bright white light. A shooting star. Then, the terrible aura rose into the clouds.
Mais understood instantly. The aura was coming from the cat that Kasuur had just cut in half. It was the aura of a sage.
It seemed that they were really fucked now.