Chapter 332

"Hmm?"

Raon tilted his head while watching the sunlight entering through the window.

'Lightning?'

The clear sky didn't have a single speck of clouds, but he suddenly heard a thundering sound. It was truly a raw lightning strike in the dry sky.

'What a strange thing to happen.'

Raon chuckled and tried clenching his fist. His stamina seemed to have returned to a certain extent, but his aura was still at rock bottom.

'I've spent too much aura.'

His recovery was slow despite Sloth's effect because he'd literally used up all of the aura in his energy center. He figured that it would take some time before he recovered to his best condition.

'I should be starting already.'

A patient had too much time to waste. He decided to utilize the Ring of Fire and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation at the same time to recover his aura and internal injuries, and he noticed the stuff on the table.

"These are…"

They were the awards he received from the heads of the Six Kings.

The platinum medal was given to him by Glenn, the gloves were from King Lecross, the ring from Chamber, the elixir was from Ogram, and the book of martial arts titled Piercing Dagger was from Derus.

The King of Essence's subordinates placed them there.

'Your subordinates?'

Indeed.

Wrath's subordinates must've been the Light Wind members. They must've brought the items to the room.

'Let's see.'

He started by examining the medal. He couldn't really feel anything special about it. It looked like a memorial given by the head of the faction the winner belonged to.

'I guess the squad leader would like it.'

Platinum was ten times more expensive than gold on the continent. Rimmer would've gone crazy for it if he saw it.

'Maybe not anymore. After all, he must've gained sudden wealth once again.'

Since Rimmer had to have won a large amount of money from gambling in the previous match, he probably won't even care about such a small amount of platinum.

Raon couldn't suppress his smile because he could already imagine him wearing golden rings on both hands.

"Next is…"

Raon put the platinum medal down and looked at the gloves from King Lecross.

"Huh?"

'Wait, is this really made from tethryl?'

Tethryl was a special metal that could be made into a thread, and it was highly resistant to magic and evil aura on top of its high durability.

The gloves were made from tethryl, which was even more expensive than platinum. Raon didn't expect to receive such a great award at all.

'He gave me such a treasure…'

He didn't expect it to be such an invaluable treasure. He figured he needed to visit him soon to express his gratitude.

Raon calmed his excitement and looked at the ring he got from Chamber.

'What is this?'

There was definitely a significant amount of mana dwelling inside, but he couldn't tell the function at all.

'I should leave it for now.'

Raon shook his head and opened the wooden box that Ogram gave him. The pure and bitter fragrance crawled outside.

'A black pill? This is the Four Clouds Elixir.'

The Four Clouds Elixir was made by carefully combining the best medical herbs and poisonous herbs, and it was the highest-grade elixir from the Beast Union.

It was a priceless treasure since it was capable of strengthening bones, muscles, and even skin on top of aura.

'I can easily recover from my internal injuries with this.'

Taking the Flour Clouds Elixir would allow him to recover from his internal injuries and aura exhaustion, as well as strengthen his body even further.

Raon smiled faintly while thinking about Ogram's refreshing smile.

'And lastly… Let's check out that bastard's gift.'

He opened the book of martial arts called Piercing Dagger that Derus gave to him.

'It's not at the highest grade, but it's at least an advanced martial art.'

Piercing Dagger was an elaborate martial art, capable of dealing with all kinds of opponents through a combination of close-quarter dagger techniques and ranged dagger-throwing techniques.

'It's nice, but… I can't use it as-is.'

Since Derus was the one who gave him the book, it signified that he knew all of the contents of the book. Because Raon might end up using it to kill Derus one day, it was unthinkable to use it as it was.

'I need to improve it before learning it.'

It would've been impossible for others, but Raon was capable of reshaping Piercing Dagger since he had the Ring of Fire. He resolved to create an excellent martial art that was capable of piercing through Derus's heart and closed the book.

Kuh…

Wrath was glaring at him while steaming from his mouth.

How could they give you tethryl gloves and a highest-grade elixir?!

'I also have a book on martial arts.'

Raon waved the book in front of Wrath, trying to make fun of him.

Those rewards are far too excessive for such a small tournament! They should've just given you some bead ice cream instead of an elixir!

Wrath yelled, saying that the rewards were too good for such a small tournament.

'Bead ice cream, huh…?'

Raon chuckled. The only similarity it shared with the elixir was the fact that it was round, but it seemed to be a better reward for Wrath.

The King of Essence would've simply waved his hand as a reward. They must be crazy to waste so much on yo—

As Wrath clicked his tongue and continued, messages appeared in front of his eyes.

[You've consecutively defeated opponents with a higher realm than you.]

[All stats have increased by 15.]

[The Ring of Fire's proficiency has drastically increased.]

[The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's proficiency has drastically increased.]

[Glacier's proficiency has drastically increased.]

The messages announced that he had received fifteen points in all stats and a proficiency increase in the Ring of Fire and the two auras he had as a reward for defeating two opponents at a higher realm than himself.

'Fifteen stat points? This is my first time getting fifteen points at once!'

Fifteen points were already big enough as rewards, but there were even more messages.

[The trait Iron Will's rank has increased.]

[The trait Bleeding Curse's rank has increased.]

[The trait Spiral Power's rank has increased by two.]

The traits he used during the tournament also increased in rank.

'It was thanks to Iron Will that I managed to last until the end.'

Iron Will's effect was to enhance willpower in a crisis, and it was the reason he managed to keep standing after he'd exhausted his stamina and aura.

'I wouldn't have been able to see that face from Derus without it. Those traits are so useful.'

Even the ones that looked like they weren't a big deal were useful in a way. Raon couldn't be more thankful to Wrath, who gave him everything.

'You are the only one who cares about me.'

Fi-fifteen in all stats? Is it really fifteen instead of 1.5?

Wrath's chin was trembling violently.

'The system seems to disagree with you. It seems to believe that those rewards aren't wasted on me.'

Raon snickered while returning Wrath's earlier remark right back at him.

Ugh…

Wrath clenched his fists with his head lowered slightly.

'It's coming soon.'

Upon noticing that the trembling from Wrath's shoulders intensified, Raon put up a sign on the door to not disturb him and locked it.

This is unbearable! What have you even done to deserve fifteen whole points?! It must've gotten a fork stuck in its brain!

Wrath charged at him while screaming. He must've been extremely angry, as his eyes had rolled back completely.

Raon took out a Four Clouds Elixir and put it in his mouth as Wrath stuck on his arm.

The bitter taste, similar to chewing on a dirty tree root, spread through his mouth as he swallowed the elixir. Heated energy was emerging in all directions.

Die!

Terrifying coldness and the power of wrath were storming at him from the outside.

'Heat from the inside and coldness from the outside. Perfect.'

Raon smiled while feeling the powerful energies coming from inside and out, then started to circulate the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.

Whir!

The Four Clouds Elixir melted down even faster in order to endure the powerful coldness from the outside and enhanced the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.

He was rapidly absorbing the elixir's energy, but that wasn't the only thing he was planning on gaining.

'The coldness from Wrath.'

Since Wrath's coldness was attacking his mana circuits, it was the perfect opportunity to convert it into Glacier and absorb it at the same time as the elixir.

Wrath didn't seem to realize it because he was blinded by anger, but he was pretty much massaging Raon to speed up his aura recovery more than twice as fast.

'Let's see…'

Raon secretly opened his eyes. Wrath was biting his arm like a baby shark while continuously spreading coldness around him. Raon slightly lowered his head while watching him.

'Thank you, Wrath. You are the true giving tree.'

Raon quietly expressed his gratitude and focused on his cultivation.

* * *

Gulp.

Martio swallowed nervously while watching Derus and Cadis in his clinic. Even though it had already been twenty minutes since their arrival, they were sitting there quietly, not saying a single word.

"Cadis."

Ten more minutes passed before Derus finally started to speak.

"I-I'm sorry."

Even though Derus simply called his name, Cadis immediately knelt on the ground.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I-I lost against him…"

"Wrong."

Derus's voice was the same as always. However, there was no trace of emotion behind it. His voice was completely placid, without any happiness, sadness, anger, or irritation.

Cadis and Martio's faces gradually turned pale because of his inhuman voice. Derus wasn't getting angry despite the situation, and they were both aware that it was the worst-case scenario for them.

"I'm sure I warned you before that you shouldn't play with your food and quickly end the match."

"I-I…"

"Losing with the Azure Clouds Flow of Stars is understandable because he could use the severing sword, which is the hard counter for it. However, you could have definitely finished him off with the Starlight Sword Art."

Derus's eyes sank into darkness and the atmosphere in the room started to dry up as if they were in a desert.

'Argh…'

Martio suppressed his urge to squeeze his own neck and clenched his fist until he started to bleed.

'I feel like my throat is burning.'

Just as he was thinking that he was going to die from suffocation, Derus continued.

"Not only did you lose to a child much younger than yourself, but you even helped him increase his realm. This outcome is the worst of the worst."

"I-I'm sorry."

Cadis grasped his arm, which they had barely managed to reattach, and lowered his head. The confidence he showed upon their first arrival at Owen had melted under his feet.

"I-I'll definitely kill him next tim—"

"Next time?"

Derus smiled for the first time. His extremely cold smile looked like it could freeze people at a single touch.

"There won't be a next time."

"Pardon?"

"He's a monster who managed to defeat you at the age of nineteen. He will be already above your head in a year, and there's no way you will get another chance."

"I'll do my best and put my life on the line! Please give me a chance, and I'll defeat him no matter wh—"

"You won't be able to seize that chance."

Derus's gaze moved towards Cadis's bandaged right shoulder.

"Because there's a problem with your arm."

"Wh-what do you mean…?"

"His coldness caused frostbite on your mana circuits and tendons. You won't be able to swing your sword as freely as before even if you manage to fully recover."

Derus looked down on Cadis. His gaze looked like he was staring at a useless object rather than his son.

"Ah…"

Cadis's eyes wavered as violently as a sailboat on a turbulent ocean.

"You will return. Think over and over about the reason you were reduced to that state."

"…Understood."

Derus shook his hand, and Cadis left Martio's clinic with his head hanging down.

"Martio."

"Yes."

"What did you think about Raon?"

Despite his injuries, Martio went to the arena to examine Raon's movements because of Derus's order, and he had reached a definitive conclusion.

He organized his thoughts before he slowly opened his mouth.

"Judging from the fights of Raon Zieghart that I've watched so far, he's different from the assassin Raon that I raised. I couldn't find even a trace of a shadow's habits from him."

Martio spoke his thoughts from watching Raon for two days straight honestly.

"I see."

Derus nodded and took off his gloves. Red blood was flowing from his more than twenty-year-old scar.

"Interesting."

His mouth curved into an evil smile as he licked the scar on the back of his hand.

"Hmm…"

Martio wiped the cold sweat flowing down his forehead away as he watched that eerie behavior.

"The last banquet will be held tomorrow evening. You will return to the house as soon as it ends."

Derus took the magic tome from his clothes and gave it to Martio.

"Give him this tome and start conquering the dungeon right away."

"What about you, my lord…?"

"I need to move around a bit to restore Cadis's arm. I'll probably check out the training ground on the way."

He furrowed his brow while pointing at the door where Cadis left a moment ago.

"I-I see."

Martio nodded with a trembling chin.

'He's such a frightening person…'

Derus wasn't trying to fix Cadis's arm for his sake. He was only doing it to look like a good father when people heard the rumors.

Martio had been with Derus for a long time, but he was getting more and more terrifying—to the point that he got goosebumps from just looking at him.

"Since it came to this, I'm planning on giving Cadis another chance. However, this will be the last one."

"Yes…"

Derus took out another glove and put it on before he stood up.

"Martio."

"Yes."

"You should remember that you don't have many chances left for you either."

Derus was coldhearted enough to abandon his own family, let alone his subordinates. Another failure was pretty much death for him.

"I'll keep it in mind."

Martio bowed. However, Derus didn't say anything or show any reaction.

"Ah…"

Martio swallowed nervously and raised his head. He could see Derus's frightening gaze directed at him as he stood the exact same way as in the beginning. Martio's heart tightened at the sight.

"See you later."

Light gradually returned to Derus's dark eyes. He changed his eyes into a gentle appearance before he patted Martio's shoulder and left the room.

"Haa…"

Martio closed his eyes and fell straight on the bed. He had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to sleep that night.

Raon slowly opened his eyes. The moonlight was wavering in the window where the sunlight used to enter.

'I've recovered quite a lot.'

Thanks to the energy of the Four Clouds Elixir emerging from the inside and Wrath's coldness attacking from the outside, Raon managed to recover from most of his internal injuries. Since his aura was also more than half full, he figured he would be able to completely recover soon enough.

"Hmm."

Argh.

Raon raised his hands and stretched his body, and Wrath fell from around his waist like an acorn.

H-how did you even endure it in that state…?

His arm fluttered in the air, showing that he was completely exhausted.

'It's all thanks to you.'

What do you mean…?

'The elixir's energy was released even faster thanks to your attacks from the outside. It was thanks to that large amount of energy that I managed to recover my internal injuries and even my aura.'

Raon waved at him with a grin on his face.

Ah, ah…

Wrath finally realized what happened and dropped his jaw.

'Thank you for the massage. It felt really good.'

Raon stirred up Wrath's hair as he stayed dumbfounded and sneered at him.

Arrrgh! You damn thief!

Wrath gritted his teeth and charged at him, but he could only scratch at thin air before falling down because he was completely exhausted.

D-damn it. I should've realized when my strength was leaving too quickly…

He murmured that he only ended up benefitting Raon with teary eyes.

"Wow, this is nice."

Raon stretched himself and stood up. As he was feeling refreshed, he could sense someone's presence on the other side of the door.

"Runaan?"

He opened the door and left the room. Runaan was nodding off on a chair.

"What have you been doing?"

"Guarding."

Runaan responded while blinking her blank eyes.

"Guarding…"

She must've been guarding him because she realized that he was cultivating.

"Thank you."

"Let's go now."

Runaan simply nodded as if it wasn't a big deal and grabbed his sleeve.

"Where are we going?"

"To the banquet hall."

She licked her lips while pointing at the banquet hall located west of the medical room.

"I was told to bring you once you were out."

"Who told you to do that?"

"The Heavenly Blade division leader."

Runaan picked up the suit hanging next to the chair. Gold and red created harmony in the splendid formal suit.

"Wear this one."

"I'm not sure about this one…"

"You must wear it, they said."

Runaan looked slightly entertained as she gave him the suit.

"In that case, I'll pass—"

"You can't."

You can't!

Raon tried to refuse and stay in the medical room, but Runaan and Wrath grabbed his arms at the same time.

"I want to eat bead ice cream."

The King of Essence wants to eat bead ice cream!

They frowned while saying the exact same thing.

"There is a lot of bead ice cream, just like the last time."

Your old man also told you to eat a lot of meat! He was asking you to join the banquet!

"Hmm…"

Raon wanted to say something, but he shut his mouth. He couldn't voice his refusal while facing Runaan and Wrath's sparkling eyes because she'd been guarding him all along and Wrath massaged him, even though it was unintentional.

"Well, I guess I need to fill my stomach."

"Yes, let's go."

Runaan waved her hand, urging him to get ready.

"Raon is damn handsome!"

You finally have the right conscience in your mind!

Runaan smiled very faintly, and Wrath snorted, saying that his education had finally paid off.

'I want to see what happens when those two mint chocolate lovers hang around together. I'm sure they will get along.'

Raon smiled while imagining them fighting over mint chocolate.

* * *

Raon washed his face and changed before going to the banquet hall. It was already noisy inside, probably because the banquet had started a while ago.

"The Azure Lunar Blade?"

"The White Sword Dragon!"

The knights guarding the entrance to the hall widened their eyes to the max upon recognizing Raon and Runaan, then bowed to them. Their bows were a lot politer than at the previous banquet.

"I was deeply impressed by Swordsman Raon's match."

"I'll be rooting for you in the future."

They expressed their feelings with slightly trembling voices before slamming the floor with their spears. The banquet hall's door opened with a thud.

"The winner of the Six Kings tournament! The White Sword Dragon, Raon Zieghart, and the Azure Lunar Blade, Runaan Sullion, are making their entrance!"

The door was wide open, and the knights inside shouted at the same time.

The noisy banquet hall fell completely silent as soon as the name of White Sword Dragon echoed.

From the heads of the Six Kings on the platform to the countless people below, everyone's gazes were focused on Raon at the same time.

"Let's go."

Even though so many gazes could have made him uncomfortable, Raon easily ignored them and entered the banquet hall.

"Mhm."

Hoo! This scent, it's definitely lamb chops! Let's start with the grilled lamb chops!

Runaan and Wrath went after the food right after they entered. They looked like people's gazes didn't bother them to begin with.

'Let's first take a seat.'

Raon chuckled. When he was about to move towards the Light Wind squad, the warriors of the Six Kings that were scattered all around the hall gathered towards him like a swarm of bees.

"Woaaah!"

"The Frostfire Sword of Valor is here!"

"He's the White Sword Dragon now!"

"I've watched all of your matches without missing a single one, Swordsman Raon! My heart has been pounding from watching them!"

"I was so excited that I couldn't even sleep yesterday!"

"Please grant me a handshake!"

Countless people of various genders and ages gathered around him to fill his surroundings. It was impossible to back off or advance into the hall.

Th-those bastards! The King of Essence needs to eat lamb chops!

Wrath was crushed like cotton candy squeezed by hands and shouted in anger.

"Sir Raon! What is your schedule?"

"About the technique that erased the Starlight Sword Art, did you really make that by yourself?"

"I heard you also created other techniques. Can you show me when there's a chanc—"

He couldn't even discern what they were saying because too many people were talking at the same time.

'It looks like I won't be able to get out of here quietly. I have no other choice.'

Raon was about to spread his pressure to make them back off, but a thunderous noise burst from the central area of the banquet hall and the entire building trembled as a result.

Rumble!

A tremendous pressure burst from the location of the impact, and the crowd blocking Raon's way was split and pushed away.

A large body could be seen over the path in the sea of people. Ogram was there. The Best Union's leader, who used to be on the platform, had descended from it.

Ogram walked up to Raon with heavy steps.

"You looked like a seasoned beast when you were in the arena, but you finally look like a boy your age."

When are we eating the meat…?

He patted Raon's back with a refreshing smile on his face. The patting was rather strong, but it felt nice because there was no trace of malice from him.

"I managed to recover from my internal injuries thanks to your elixir. Thank you."

The smell of lamb chops is so intense…

Raon took the opportunity and thanked him for giving him the Four Clouds Elixir.

"That's not a big deal, since I have to give thirty more in the future."

"What?"

'What is he talking about?'

Raon unconsciously gasped because of the sudden mention of thirty Four Clouds Elixirs.

"I made a bet with your old man and lost. I wagered that I would have to give away as many Four Cloud Elixirs as the number of you kids."

"Does that mean that are you giving the Four Cloud Elixirs to everyone in the Light Wind squad?"

"Indeed."

Let's talk about it later and eat for now…

Ogram didn't stop smiling despite talking about his loss.

"And…"

He took off the coat he was wearing and handed it over.

"This Black Dragon Coat is also yours now."

It doesn't matter whether it's a Black Dragon or an Earthworm cape. Just start eating already!