Chapter 17

Holy Knight Raymond made his way back.

Perhaps because he was lost in thought, his steps were as slow and languid as a lazy donkey's. Slow enough to irritate anyone watching.

He was thinking about the two people he had just met.

'Beast hunter Jin, and the mage Claire.'

Both possessed abilities remarkable enough to make one question why they were working as mere mercenaries.

Talented mages often revealed a mystical sharpness just through their gaze alone. The woman called Claire was no exception. Though he had not seen her cast a spell, the atmosphere around her was enough to glimpse her exceptional intellect.

But the more impressive one was the man.

Jin. A hunter commonly called "Skull Crusher" among the mercenaries. Raymond had assumed the rumors surrounding him were exaggerated by typical mercenary bravado and lies…

'… He was no ordinary man.'

The moment their eyes met, a chill had run down his spine.

The sensation had been so brief he almost thought it an illusion. Startled, Raymond had continued observing him, trying to gauge his level—but after that initial instant, he felt nothing.

That meant Woojin was a beast that knew how to hide its claws.

For someone so young, his skill was extraordinary. And on top of that, he possessed the ability to tame a wolf-type magical beast…

"… Quite the contrast."

Raymond muttered under his breath.

He lifted his head. The large tent draped over the Tarasque's back came into view.

He had deliberately walked slowly… yet he had arrived all the same.

Suppressing the sigh threatening to escape, Raymond stepped inside the tent.

Immediately, he was confronted with a host of unpleasant sensations. The sharp stench of urine stung his nose. Dull, lifeless eyes. And the coarse moans of a woman. All of it originated from the two men within.

"Raymond… where have you been?"

The voice belonged to Derek, the eldest son of Golden Maggot.

His body was gaunt, as though he had been starving for days. His golden hair was a tangled mess, likely from constantly tugging at it.

Raymond recited the excuse he had prepared in advance.

"I conducted a brief patrol of the surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Ah… I see. Thank you for your efforts."

"Ugh—"

The moaning continued to intrude upon the conversation.

In a corner, Cedric—the second son of Golden Maggot—was ravaging a prostitute as though trying to devour her whole.

Raymond forced himself to ignore the sound and continued speaking.

"At this pace, we should reach the Third Pioneer City in about ten more days. We will replenish supplies there before proceeding to the Wall."

"… Ten days?"

Derek glared at him with bloodshot eyes.

"Can't you shorten the time?"

"That would be difficult under the current circumstances."

"Difficult?! What kind of nonsense is that!"

Suddenly Derek shouted and hurled his wineglass. The shattered glass scattered as red wine splashed across the floor.

"I told you to hurry, damn it! What am I supposed to do now…? We're already two days behind the planned arrival!"

He roared, tearing at his hair, smashing nearby objects one by one with wild gestures.

In truth, the delay was inevitable. Derek had hired an excessive number of mercenaries, bloating their forces beyond the original plan. Moving such a large group naturally required more time.

But there was only one thing Raymond could say in moments like this.

"My apologies."

"Damn it! Do you know how much money we handed over to the Order?! And you can't even handle something like this?!"

"Ah, ah…"

All the while, Cedric kept moving his hips in silence. The prostitute's relentless cries and Derek's foul-mouthed tantrum created a scene of utter chaos.

'… O Goddess.'

Raymond closed his eyes.

He prayed only that this moment would pass as quickly as possible.

Another largely uneventful day repeated itself.

They walked endlessly under the sun, and as dusk approached, they pitched tents in preparation for the night. There was little else to do.

But a small change came to Woojin.

Shaaa—

Pale blue particles shimmered in his palm. A cool aura flowed forth and seeped into a glass bottle. Frost slowly spread across its surface in delicate white crystals.

"… That's enough."

Claire spoke from beside him.

Woojin withdrew his hand. Claire inspected the bottle like a careful examiner, then used an opener to remove the cork.

Pop!

The cork came free with a satisfying sound. She tilted the bottle and poured the contents into a cup. Icy apple juice flowed out, a thin layer of frost clinging to its surface.

Claire smiled brightly. For a mage, it was a moment akin to a birthday.

"Congratulations. You've mastered your first spell."

"It's thanks to you."

Woojin raised his hand. Reading his intention, Claire lifted hers as well.

Smack!

A high-five.

Then the two of them drank the chilled apple juice in celebration.

Woojin had mastered the first-circle ice spell, Cool Touch. Perhaps because it was the first spell he had ever learned, the feeling was especially meaningful.

But before he could fully savor the sweetness of success, an unexpected headache struck. It felt as though a sharp awl were jabbing into his skull.

'What's this? Is it because I drank something too cold?'

The pain throbbed far more intensely than that explanation would justify.

As Woojin frowned, Claire immediately noticed.

"Your head hurts right now, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. A little."

"It's spell overload."

Spell overload.

As the name suggested, it referred to the strain placed on the brain by excessive spellcasting—akin to muscle soreness after intense exercise.

"I think we should end today's magic practice. At times like this, you need proper rest to recover."

"Really?"

Woojin lifted his head and glanced at the sky.

Dark clouds tinted crimson by the sunset drifted overhead. Perhaps because they were drawing closer to the Wall, the number of clouds had noticeably decreased.

It was still a bit early to go to bed. Letting the time go to waste seemed a shame.

"So as long as I rest my head, that's fine, right?"

"What are you planning to do?"

"Work out a bit to pass the time."

Claire tilted her head slightly.

"Hmm… Since exercise doesn't require much thinking, maybe it's fine? I've never considered that before."

"Seems worth trying at least once."

"Most mages dislike physical exertion. That's an unusual idea."

Then he would test it himself.

Woojin began warming up with bodyweight exercises. Placing his left hand behind his back, he started doing one-armed push-ups using only his right arm.

His body moved exactly as he intended. Though his head still throbbed faintly, there was nothing wrong with his physical condition, so exercising posed no difficulty.

Claire watched from nearby.

His movements were fast and mechanical, almost machine-like. Even to someone with little knowledge of physical training, it was obvious that his level was far from ordinary.

"If someone wanted to last even a few minutes against Jin, they'd need to be at least a Rank 2 mercenary."

Claire muttered as if speaking to herself. Her comment sparked Woojin's curiosity.

"What rank were the guys who picked a fight with me?"

"Most of them were probably Rank 3. But Rank 3 doesn't mean much. It's a title anyone can get with enough time and experience."

Up to Rank 3, almost anyone could reach it. But moving up to Rank 2 or higher required both real combat ability and reputation.

There was someone like that near Woojin.

"Jonathan was Rank 2, right?"

"Yes. Most mercenary captains are Rank 2. And I've heard that those above Rank 1 rarely come outside the Wall."

"Why?"

If they were stronger, shouldn't they be even more active outside?

Claire answered simply.

"You can't even get proper meals out here. Once you're Rank 1, wouldn't you rather live comfortably?"

"… Fair point."

Come to think of it, Woojin himself was heading toward the Wall to live more comfortably. He wasn't in a position to criticize.

He continued exercising while chatting idly. Claire responded casually, and time passed smoothly.

Then Claire suddenly frowned.

"… Jin. Aren't you tired?"

"Why all of a sudden?"

"You've been working out for over an hour."

Woojin had been exercising nonstop for quite a while. On top of that, he had been talking with Claire the whole time, surely expending even more stamina.

But something felt strange. Claire narrowed her eyes and examined his face.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Your sweat…"

Woojin brushed his face with his hand. Nothing came off.

"There's nothing."

"Exactly. You've been doing intense exercise for this long… so why isn't there even a single drop of sweat?"

Not only had Woojin not broken into a sweat, he hadn't even become short of breath. His strength and stamina were beyond what seemed human.

It would have been possible if he were enhancing his body with mana. But Woojin didn't know how to use such techniques, and with spell overload, he couldn't use mana at all.

From Claire's perspective, it made no sense.

Woojin answered without much thought.

"It's because I hunted a lot of magical beasts. If you eat their blood, meat, or inner cores, your physical abilities improve."

"You ate them?!"

Claire recoiled in shock.

Her reaction puzzled Woojin instead.

"… Why? Is that bad?"

"Of course it is! A magical beast's inner core is practically poison!"

She raised her voice in a way she rarely did.

Thinking back, the Chronicles of the Demonic Realm had indeed described consuming inner cores as dangerous. At the time, Woojin simply hadn't agreed with it and skimmed past that part.

"… Can you explain in more detail?"

Woojin asked cautiously.

Claire steadied herself and began explaining.

Karma—also called 업.

It was the name given to a dark, tainted energy found only in the Demonic Realm. Living beings that absorbed karma would gain altered bodies and grotesque abilities.

A magical beast's inner core was an organ that had evolved through absorbing karma. If one killed a beast and consumed its inner core, they could inherit a portion of the strength and abilities that creature possessed in life.

That was why the energy was called karma. Like Karma, it endlessly cycled through the chain of killing and being killed.

"In the past, there were people who insisted that consuming inner cores was the right thing to do."

Absorbing karma granted power quickly and easily. It enhanced the body overall and even allowed one to acquire unnatural abilities beyond human limits.

But believing one could control karma was foolish. The energy of the Demonic Realm was violent and impure. Those who consumed inner cores would eventually be eroded by that power, losing their humanity.

"In the end, they become lunatics consumed by karma, wandering the Demonic Realm endlessly. People call them 'Wraiths.'"

The more inner cores one consumed, the higher the chance of becoming a Wraith.

"How many inner cores have you eaten so far, Jin?"

Claire looked at him directly as she asked.

How should he answer?

Avoiding the issue now would likely create bigger problems later. Since she had already realized part of the truth, it was better to be honest.

"This might sound strange…"

"Please continue."

"… There wasn't much to eat deep inside. Supplies ran out often. So for at least several years, I lived by hunting magical beasts."

To him, eating magical beasts had been no different from having a meal.

Claire blinked.

His answer shattered her sense of common sense.

Even estimating conservatively, that meant he had devoured hundreds of magical beasts. The amount of karma accumulated in his body would be far beyond what could be called human.

Under normal circumstances, he should have gone mad at any moment.

Yet the man in front of her looked completely calm. Like a predator that hunted prey simply because it was hungry—as if it had all been perfectly natural.

"… A mantis."

Claire murmured unconsciously, as if in a trance.

Woojin tilted his head.

"What did you just say?"

"Ah—nothing."

She didn't want to voice an uncertain hypothesis, so she quickly brushed it aside.