(26) 8 days later

Wrapping the bandage around his ankle, NIcokel's expression relaxed, feeling an incredible sensation around his injury. The cool feeling that the medicine produced showed its effectiveness.

knock-knock~

"Get in." Having an idea of who it was, Nicokel spoke with no hesitation.

Click~

Mesrath entered the room with a nervous face. The moment he woke up, a maid led him to Nicokel's room.

"Just sit on the chair instead of looking around like a lost dog." Nicokel couldn't help but blurt out looking at Mesrath's action.

"S-sorry..."

Mesrath did as Nicokel instructed.

Nicokel slightly raised his brows. 'From his timid attitude, he most likely lived in an abusive environment before coming to the Desroth empire. Now that I look into his eyes again, I am sure of it...'

A smile spread across Nicokel's face. Sitting on the corner of the bed, he began questioning Mesrath.

"How did you enter the city?" 

"...I disguised myself by changing the color of my hair. The temporary color vanished a little naturally after a while, so I cleaned it myself to not gather suspicions." Mesrath's voice showed his past struggle.

Nicokel rubbed his chin, "Why did you run away from the barbarian kingdom?" 

This time, Mesrath's expression changed like it was contorting. Cold hatred crept into his eyes, as he began audibly grinding his teeth.

'I like his expression better now.' Nicokel nodded in appreciation, after all, Mesrath's current expression matched Nicokel's while he began his journey for revenge. 

"I did not run away from that accursed place, I escaped from it...!" Mesrath's voice grew dry as he spoke. 

Now that he heard Mesrath again, Nicokel couldn't help but wonder to himself, 'Should I be honest with him?' 

After the silence passed for a few seconds, Nicokel spoke naturally.

"I will be heading to the battlefield in a while, so I have a proposal for you." 

"Proposal...?" Mesrath wondered if it had anything to do with becoming his knight, or similar. And the word battlefield brought his focus on Nicokel involuntarily. 

"Yeah. The Verskein family is at war with your nation as you know. I can tell that you want revenge, no need to keep regulating the emotions in your eyes." 

Mesrath flinched slightly, he wasn't acting but he tried to not let his emotions show in his eyes from time to time. 

"I was just joking about making you my knight before, but now, I changed my mind. Become my knight....No, Become my comrade and I will help you take revenge." Nicokel seriously looked into Mesrath's surprised eyes. 

Not having expected it to turn out like this, Mesrath stayed quiet for a very long time. However, his dazed expression slowly turned resolute. 

"I will become your knight." 

Mesrath's voice brought a cold smile onto Nicokel's face. 

"Let's dye the battlefield in blood with our emotions, alright?" 

At that moment, Hearing Nicokel's bloodthirsty voice, Mesrath was sure that Nicokel was not normal. 

"Yes."

....

8 days later.

The stamina potion was delivered the very next day after the negotiation with Jane. He had met Katlyn multiple times too, as she was the one to personally deliver all the items he wanted. 

Resting on the fountain after finishing his usual exercise, Nicokel'a body was worn out from exhaustion. 

'There were 15 zero-grade mana potions, but I used them all while learning the Salamander's mana circulation....'  

A little was used on understanding the knight's mana manipulation too. It was important to learn this as he needed to evolve his mana to the next level, the fog phase. However, even after more than a week, Nicokel had only grasped the fundamentals. 

'I have started sparring with the knights as usual to get a grasp on my strength. It turned out to be that I am not comparable to even the nails of an apprentice knight.' 

Throughout these 8 days, the thing that improved the most without a doubt was his mana reserves. 

However, this, in turn, made it not possible for him to control all his mana. 

The mana and Body have to be balanced to release all of their might. 

For this reason, Nicokel had no choice but to push his body further. He estimated it would still take around two weeks for his body to grow accustomed to his mana reserve. 

'Sigh...My body growth has grown slower, now it's similar to any normal person. Should I have ordered some stamina potions too...? But I have no more money...' Nicokel got up with his lips pursed. 

The morning dew fell from the grasses Nicokel slightly kicked. A slight fog covered the surroundings and chilly winds blew by. 

The knight's training ground was quite lively as Nicokel entered. Today was the day, the Duke Verskein will arrive, creating a festive environment immediately. 

Bow! 

The knights bowed their heads immediately, stopping their training session.

Nodding his head, Nicokel thought: 'Mesrath is still in the knight's lodging, however, it will take him a while to become an apprentice knight. He did have an unexpected talent for swordsmanship, so it shouldn't be a problem.' 

The knight captain set up a sparring partner for Nicokel. He had harboured thoughts of teaching Nicokel as a disciple, but he gave up not long after. He has no qualifications to do that. 

The knight captain had seen Nicokel's progress in the past few days and he knew just what kind of genius Nicokel was. 

It wouldn't be a joke to say that Nicokel was the biggest genius throughout history. 

"Use raw mana while sparring with the young master." The knight captain instructed the knight strictly. 

"Understood." The knight's expression was serious. As he knew that he would lose if he wasn't serious. 

It was not a joke. 

Nicokel was unbeatable in close-ranged battles on Earth for a reason. It was because his analysis talent was active even while he fought. Now that his body had memorized all of the sword's stances, his performance skyrocketed. 

Nicokel could even give the apprentice knights a bad time now.