CHAPTER 50: A Harsh Reality

There was a deafening round of screams first, followed by all sorts of noises coming from a house to the left of the alley. After a while, Beacher and the others came out, dragging a bedraggled Claude who wasn't quite there.

Irene's face was full of rage as she glared at Claude and gave him a grim lecture. She said vehemently, "Claude, you're disgusting. I never want to see you again! Katie, let's go."

With the way things had developed, Han Shuo knew that his revenge had been taken and there was no need to stick around. When he saw Irene and Katie walking quickly in his direction, he hastily hid himself and made his way back to the hotel at a leisurely pace.

Back at the hotel, Han Shuo washed up and then sat cross-legged on the bed to practise magic. The magic yuan slowly expanded his meridians inch by inch. Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, Han Shuo continuously circulated his Magic Yuan according to the instructions of the 'Open Gate Realm'.

The process of practising magic was often accompanied by excruciating pain. This caused Han Shuo's personality to change from his previous lackadaisical attitude to one of determination. Whether it was his willpower or his ability to stoically endure pain, Han Shuo had greatly increased both.

Han Shuo's entire personality and character had unknowingly and continuously changed with the advent of practicing magic. As his strength slowly increased, the previously timid and cowering Han Shuo had already experienced great changes. The way he saw and understood things was completely different from the way he had thought before.

Suddenly, a solid, dull footstep sounded in Han Shuo's heart. Han Shuo abruptly stopped all magic practice, held his breath and concentrated. All of his bodily functions instantly sank into a frozen and immobile state.

The footsteps that had sounded so far had come from the southern intersection of Drol City and the Dark Forest. From the dullness and rhythm of the thudding sound, Han Shuo could tell that it was coming from a magical creature with high speed. The weight of this creature was definitely heavier than a battle steed, and there were more than a few of them.

With a furrowed brow, Han Shuo thought for a while and walked out of the hotel, slowly moving in the direction of the magical creatures to see what the situation was.

Just as Han Shuo had left the hotel and reached the southern streets of Drol, two figures had also rushed over with a look of haste. They were an elderly, skinny wizard and a female elf archer with green-tipped ears. When they saw Han Shuo's arrival, both of them showed shocked expressions, as if they hadn't thought that Han Shuo would be here.

"Little one, what are you doing here?" The skinny little wizard looked at Han Shuo and asked with a smile.

From their cautious demeanour, Han Shuo understood that they had most likely also discovered the disturbance from the south. Weighing things up in his mind, Han Shuo bowed slightly and replied, "Noble Wizard, I've been separated from my companions. They said they would return after a few days, so I've been waiting here."

The wizard nodded and frowned thoughtfully. He said to the elven archer next to him, "Blanche, go scout and see if they're wolf riders from the orcs. Every year before winter, they send wolf riders to raid and pillage the villages on the edge of the realm.

But the town of Drol is in a unique location, and it is full of adventurers and mercenaries. The orcs had never sent wolf riders to attack Drol, so why would they act so strangely this time? Not to mention that there was still plenty of time before winter!"

"Yes, Master Felix." Upon hearing the words of the old wizard Felix, the elven archer named Blanche immediately headed south, hovering in front of Han Shuo like a gust of wind.

"Little one, the city of Drol is not a peaceful place. It's late at night, so you should go back early to rest. Your companions should be looking for you when they return, so there's no need to wait here any longer." Felix looked at Han Shuo with a smile as he tried to convince Han Shuo.

"Alright then, I'll head back now." Han Shuo replied calmly and started to make his way back as soon as he'd finished talking.

After Han Shuo had left, Felix pondered as he stared strangely at Han Shuo's retreating figure. After a while, he finally muttered to himself. "I must be overthinking the situation... there is no way that this boy is more perceptive than I, a Wind Archmage!"

On his way back to his hotel, Han Shuo noticed that a few other people with the same surprised expression on their faces came out of nearby hotels and hurriedly made their way to the south road. It looked like they had also noticed the disturbance and had gone to the south road to check things out.

"Bryan, I have some business with you! Come here for a moment!" On his way back, Han Shuo bumped into Claude on the road to the hotel. Claude's face was heavily clouded and he seemed to be in an extremely bad mood.

His heart skipped a beat, and Han Shuo had a vague sense of unease. He could strongly sense the suppressed anger emanating from Claude. Although Claude was looking at him with a calm gaze, his teeth were chattering slightly, allowing Han Shuo to feel the strong waves in his emotions.

Staring dumbly at Claude, Han Shuo thought furiously. At this moment, Han Shuo understood that his actions at the hotel earlier had still been too rash and impulsive. If Claude had sobered up, he would surely have noticed his body's condition and surely deduced that it was something caused by the Purple Leylan in the hotel. Claude wasn't stupid. Only Irene and Han Shuo had been at the table and Irene would never do something like that. Connecting the dots back to when the waiter suddenly stumbled, Claude must have figured out the whole situation.

"Okay." Han Shuo thought carefully and knew that the situation was bad. He was prepared for a brutal beating from Claude as he followed behind the knight, slowly walking out of Drol and arriving at a secluded patch of forest south of Drol.

Moonlight filtered through the forest as bugs chirped softly nearby. However, Han Shuo's sensitive ears were able to pick up the faint breathing of Claude's heavily suppressed anger.

Looks like it's going to be quite a beating. Han Shuo thought ironically, but he didn't feel too much fear. He had gotten used to the beatings by now and knew the situation of his body quite well. He knew that the usual type of beating would not be able to hurt him, so his heart was relatively calm.

Pa.

Just as he was thinking, a ringing punch sent him staggering to the left before he could react preemptively. It was a good thing that Han Shuo's body was far superior to that of normal humans. He steadied himself in the mess, regained his footing, and grimaced as he smiled wryly at Claude.

"You damned lowly slave. You pig! Who do you think you are, plotting against me?" Claude's suppressed anger had finally exploded. An ugly, vehement face glared at Han Shuo as his usual sunny, gentlemanly demeanour had long since vanished into the clouds.

Pilapala. A wave of attacks rained down on Han Shuo's body. Han Shuo clutched his head with both hands, not raising them to defend himself as he took the blows from Claude's thunderous fury. Finally, he suddenly curled up into a ball and fell to the ground, looking as if he couldn't take any more blows.

"Well, does that hurt? I won't let you die so easily. Do you know who I am? I am Claude Asche, son of the commander of the Empire's Gryphon Legion, Commander Bob Asche. You lowly messenger boy dare to plot against me and ruin my relationship with Irene. I will let you experience the full agony and pain before letting you die slowly. Ahaha." Claude stared venomously at Han Shuo as he drew his long sword with a cold smile and slowly walked towards Han Shuo.

Up until now, Han Shuo had finally understood that he had always made a huge mistake. Whether it was Fitch or Bach, his methods had always involved a great deal of risk. With his status as an errand slave, no matter who killed him, they wouldn't have to suffer too much backlash. Even if Bach killed him, the Academy would probably only give him a few words of admonishment and demand a few gold coins in compensation.

Han Shuo had originally thought that Claude would at most give him a brutal beating for such a prank, but the outcome had finally made it easier for Han Shuo to understand the harsh reality. Claude not only wanted him to die this time, but also wanted him to experience the full agony and pain before he died. This was the harsh reality.

At that moment, Han Shuo finally understood what kind of world this was. Status and position were a fundamental, integral existence. There was a huge difference in status between the two of them, which allowed Claude to kill him with impunity and without any particular responsibility. Claude had called him to this deserted forest because he didn't want to ruin his noble status and himself. Even if he had killed Han Shuo in Drol, it would have been a matter of course and no one would have thought twice about it.

Growth always had its price. Han Shuo curled up on the ground, still moaning loudly and begging for mercy. A heart that held only vague thoughts of evil was slowly hardening with cold.

"I will cut you into several pieces and let you scream as you bleed. You will slowly, fully experience pain before you die. Remember your status in the next life. You're just an errand slave, a pig. Never try to challenge the temperament of your superiors. Claude chuckled sinisterly as the long sword in his hand pierced the chest of a Han Shuo who seemed to have lost the ability to defend himself too long ago.

At that moment, the constant howling suddenly ceased as Han Shuo's curly figure moved abruptly and rolled towards Claude's feet. Its speed was such that it caught Claude off guard.

As Claude was about to dodge, he suddenly let out a terrible wail. Several iron needles protruded from the tops of his feet, nailing them firmly to the ground. A wave of bone-shattering pain emanated from his lower abdomen. Claude lowered his head to find a dagger protruding from his stomach. Han Shuo looked at him with a cold and distant gaze, the look in his eyes giving Claude a very strange feeling.

"I am the son of the commander of the Gryphon League. You damned errand boy, how dare you harm me?" Claude's body was racked with pain as he shouted angrily in a weak voice.

"Thank you for telling me the harsh truth of reality. Because of your vaunted status, I'm not only going to hurt you, I'm going to kill you!"

After saying these words in a distant tone, another iron needle appeared in Han Shuo's right hand and pierced right through Claude's throat amidst Claude's horrified screams.