From atop the rock, Requiem stared down at Yuda arrogantly, as if committing him to memory, then sprawled back down on its belly. Perhaps seeking sleep, its form faded from view, and its presence grew faint. With the boss losing interest, the black wolves that had stood up scattered as if there was nothing left to see. Some glanced at Yuda and Tia, licking their chops, but most couldn’t care less.
"You okay with those injuries?"
Tia approached, keeping an eye on their surroundings, her voice laced with concern. Although it was painful, the level up had temporarily boosted his regeneration, so it was fine. The wounds were healing fast enough that the pain was bearable.
"I’m okay."
"Then hang in there. Let’s get out of here first, then deal with healing or whatever."
"Yeah."
Yuda nodded. He didn’t want to look weak, tending wounds in front of the wolves. Tia crouched low to let him climb on her back. As he grabbed her fur like handlebars, something glinted where Korkan had been.
"A code?"
He reached out and picked it up. He had defeated the named monster, but he hadn’t skinned it or obtained any magic stones, which left him disappointing. However, perhaps as compensation, this code had been left behind. The wolves didn’t seem to care about the code itself, showing no interest. The code faintly glowed with a green hue. It was a "rare" grade, just above common.
──────────────────────────────
「Code: Vilely Targeting Only the Enemy’s Wounds」
Rank: Rare _ Weapon Exclusive
Effect: Bleeding +5%
Attack Power +10 +3%
Durability Decay Rate +2%
──────────────────────────────
It was a dirty fighter for sure. The effects totally fit a code from that jerk.
Yuda put the code and broken half-sword into his 〈Inventory〈Inventory〉 and climbed on before Tia could urge him. The surrounding wolves remained indifferent, as if they wouldn't even mind if they slept here. But Tia moved quickly, steering them away from the wolves’ den. True to their indifference, none of the wolves followed. However, Tia didn’t slow down and swiftly made her way back to the place they had set up as their base.
Tia set Yuda down gently near the campfire. Embers still lingered, making it easy to stoke the flames back up. As the fire roared, Yuda noticed she had shifted back to human form naked. He quickly got clothes from his 〈Inventory〉 and handed them over. She frowned at the offered bundle.
"Clothes are the issue now? Grab a potion first. Wait, it’s in my stuff."
Tia hurriedly rummaged through the clothes Yuda had handed her. She felt no shame in her naked body, but Yuda, feeling embarrassed, seemed the odd one out. Boldly approaching him, she tore the cloth over his wound with beast-like strength, applying a solution to the congealing blood, wiping it away, and then applied a potion to the injury.
A hiss sounded as white smoke billowed from the wounds, stinging a bit. After the quick patch-up, Yuda sighed. She had used up a whole expensive temple-made potion. Handing him the empty bottle, she ruffled his hair.
"Whew, you clever kid. You fought well."
He gave a weak smile at the praise. Fighting all-out had drained him. His mana had fully recovered with the level-up, but why didn’t injuries or stamina get a full reset? Maybe to keep it subtle in front of others.
She finally grabbed her clothes by the fire and dressed. Fully clothed, she met his eyes, and he smiled back.
"You worked hard, Tia. Thanks to you, it was an easy trip. You’ll give me a ride again sometime, right?"
Huh? Tia’s face stiffened.
"Look at this cheeky kid. Today was a special case, don’t expect it normally! And you."
"Yeah?"
"Don’t you have something to say to me?"
"What do you mean?"
Tia clamped her mouth shut, pulled a cigarette from her pocket, and stuck it between her lips. Like she was saying, Think hard, she lit it leisurely and inhaled the smoke.
Hoo-
It wasn’t the usual musty tobacco smell but a bitter herbal scent. One he could never get used to. When he stayed quiet, she spoke first.
"That shadow stuff earlier. And those eyes. What’s up with that? Aren’t you hiding too much from your own master?"
Her sulky, hurt expression made Yuda feel awkward. Was he hiding that much? He wondered, but only two things came to mind.
The Inventory she thought was a subspace, and the shadow sorcery, half of his shadow swordsmanship. That was it, nothing else, but she seemed to think there was more. His answer here might shift her trust either way. After a brief pause, he decided hiding it from her, especially since she already knew about the shadow sorcery, wouldn’t make much of a difference. So, he decided to come clean and smiled at her.
"Were you upset?"
"What? No, why would I be upset over that!"
Maybe she felt caught as her face flushed slightly, and her voice rose. He had only seen her big-sister side before; this new reaction felt fresh. Even a little cute.
"It’s not a big deal."
"Even if it’s not a big deal, you’re my apprentice, and my family. That’s why I’m curious. Tell me. But if it’s really something you can’t say… it’s fine if you don’t."
He had thought about teasing her, but that felt embarrassing now. Her saying she saw him as family made his heart skip. She would never lied once, so the sincerity hit hard. As long as Kain didn’t find out, it was fine. Kain would figure out too eventually but Yuda hoped it would be later, ideally not until they faced off as enemies.
"It’s shadow sorcery."
"Shadow sorcery?"
"You know I’ve been training in the forgotten kingdom’s swordsmanship, right?"
She probably already knew. She would likely heard from Kaseun, and he had also used it during their first dueling match to be assessed. But back then, he hadn’t used any magic techniques. That’s why he’d been dismissed as only "half-formed." Perhaps recalling that now, she wore a displeased expression.
"I know, but it’s half-complete. You said you only knew the swordsmanship, not the sorcery? Wait. does that mean you lied?"
"Yeah. I knew it. I just hid it from both you and Kaseun."
"Why?"
Just didn’t want to tell anyone. He hated giving info to Kain, who would become an enemy later, and unlike swordsmanship, he could train shadow sorcery solo. More than that, there was no need. Most stuff got handled with swordsmanship alone, and shadow sorcery didn’t exactly rake in cash, so he had naturally let it sit.
"There’s no point in telling. Tia, did I ever tell you how I lost my parents?"
"Huh? Uh, no. Why bring that up now?"
Though she hadn’t heard it directly, she had learned from Kaseun how Yuda had lost his parents. She was told that they had been killed by fellow mercenaries they had once adventured with. The reason those mercenaries had sought out and murdered Yuda’s parents remained unknown, as Kaseun hadn’t said. Yuda, the only known witness at the time, had stated he couldn’t remember.
"It’s not sudden. It’s where the story starts. You probably know… Didn’t Grandpa not tell you? Mercenaries showed up at night and killed my parents while I was asleep."
"……."
“When the mercenaries who killed my parents couldn’t find what they were looking for, they tried to kill me too, to silence me. One of them came at me with a huge axe, but I turned it against him using the magic technique I had learned. Oh, and this is something no one else knows, so you can’t tell anyone okay?”
"Don’t worry, I won’t spill stuff like that."
Still, it was a troubling story. Feeling off, she just smoked. Had she reopened a wound by asking? She regretted it, but Yuda told it calmly. Even if they were his parents, they had died before he had the chance to grow attached. All he felt was a distant sense of pity.
Tia nodded. Now that she thought about it, she had heard that there were people who could handle special abilities by nature, even though they used magic like everyone else. Of course, depending on the development of their abilities and talent, some had immense power while others had almost none. However, she had only heard stories and had never seen it firsthand. Yuda’s possession of a subspace might have been a result of his natural abilities awakening through training in swordsmanship and sorcery. She remained silent, inhaling and exhaling cigarette smoke repeatedly. She didn’t even try to meet his gaze, and Yuda sighed quietly. Looking at her information window, he noticed that, perhaps out of sympathy, her affinity toward him had risen slightly, and her trust had reached 90.
"Oh…"
"With the subspace thing, I don’t really get it either. Probably a byproduct of learning shadow sorcery. One day, I just started using it naturally."
Tia gave a small nod. Come to think of it, she had heard stories about people who, though they used mana like everyone else, were born with unique abilities that set them apart from magic. Of course, depending on how those abilities were developed and the person's natural talent, some became extraordinary, while others were barely noticeable. Still, she had only ever heard the stories buy never seen it with her own eyes. Perhaps Yuda’s subspace had awakened as an innate ability during his training in swordsmanship and sorcery.
She said nothing. Silently, she continued to inhale and exhale cigarette smoke, avoiding his gaze. Seeing her like that, Yuda let out a quiet sigh. When he checked her information window, he saw that her affection level had slightly increased, perhaps out of sympathy, and her trust level had reached 90.
"...Um, it's not that I'm trying to hide anything. I just really don’t know how to explain it. I don’t understand it myself."
"No, I get it. I basically forced it out of you despite your age, thanks for telling me."
"No way. Did that clear up your curiosity?"
"Mm…"
"Good. I don’t care about others, but I would hate for you to dislike me, Tia."
Seeing Yuda’s gentle smile, Tia felt a pang in her chest and a flutter. A kid, sure, but that charming smile threw her off and she panicked and changed the subject.
"Uh, aren’t you tired? Let’s go to sleep. We’ve got to head back as soon as the sun’s up."
Was she feeling guilty? There was no need for that. Yuda gave a wry smile and slept as told. At dawn, they returned to Serenia Castle together. Out of the guards’ sight, they tied up about 150 black wolf pelts, stacked them neatly, and dragged them to the gate.
Knight Charles and several guards came down, opening the gate. It wasn’t time yet, but after four days gone, Tia and Yuda who were presumed to be dead hauling black wolf pelts back shocked them.
Yuda sold the pelts and mana stones to a clothing shop and the mage tower. For four days’ work, they scored a hefty sum. Back home, Tia and Yuda crashed in their rooms, sleeping hard. They woke up at dusk.
They had gotten back in the morning when the sun was rising, but woke up to it setting. What a ridiculous situation.
Snorting at the absurdity, Yuda pulled a fancy packed lunch from his 〈Inventory〉 and shared it with Tia. They planned to stay in the forest for a week, but the duel with Korkan and that swarm of wolves forced them back.
He asked Tia what to do with the food stashed in his 〈Inventory〉, but she just said, Leave it! Since it was like a subspace, stuff wouldn’t spoil no matter how long it sat.
Stockpiling could come in handy later, so Yuda just nodded. Tonight, the lunchbox would do, but starting tomorrow, they would need to cook. All they had left at home was five eggs and some veggies.
Guess we’re shopping tomorrow.
but there was still some time before it arrived. In the meantime, they needed food, so Yuda would have to go shopping with Tia tomorrow. He also needed to drop off the broken shortsword and the dagger with a dulled edge and reduced durability at the blacksmith.
"Yuuudaaa-"
Tia’s voice called from the living room, chipper and lively. Her Hurry up! tone made Yuda raise his voice to reply.
"Yeah! Coming!"
Master and apprentice in name, but more like big sister and little brother. Still, for all her urgency, she was just lounging on the sofa, arms stretched toward the ceiling.
"Working out?"
"No, come here and gimme a hug. What’re you doing?"
She stared like, Why’re you just standing there gawking? Yuda tried to dodge her gaze and slip away, but a low growl followed.
"Yuda. Not coming?"
Wanna die? That kind of tone. Hesitating, he edged closer, and losing patience, Tia reached out and yanked him into a hug. Her stiff face softened only after she had him in her arms.
"On a day like this, why don’t you just rest. Why’re you bustling around?"
"We’ve got to go grocery shopping tomorrow. There’s nothing to eat for breakfast."
"Sure, we’ll go. But that’s tomorrow’s job. Nothing to do today, right?"
Tia had no intention of letting go, tucking Yuda into the sofa’s corner like a girl cuddling a doll to sleep. The sofa was big enough, not cramped, but her tight grip left no escape.
"Yeah, true, but…"
"Then quit complaining and sleep now, okay?"
No answer, and her brow furrowed as she looked down.
"Not gonna reply?"
"…Yeah. Night."
He had no choice but to stay in her arms, but despite his grumbly face, he actually felt pretty great about it.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
***Author’s Note***
Ugh, just got back from movies.
Saw Now You See Me 2, then caught a paid preview of Train to Busan.
Both were super fun.
Though with Now You See Me 2, I was like, why China as the setting?
Train to Busan was surprisingly solid for a Korean zombie flick.
Pretty enjoyable day overall.
Hope you all have a great Friday—er, weekend!
P.S.) Some said the pacing’s slow, there’s not much left!
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