Chapter 13

"I believe I've identified the poison. I know how to create the antidote, but I'll need specific ingredients."

"What do you need? I will get you anything you require."

"Please fetch me the blood of a mutated troll and the highest quality healing potion."

"Consider it done."

"The blood of the mutated troll must be of the highest grade."

"Yes, my lord."

Cedric swiftly left the room.

"Brother, is there anything I can do?"

"You called me 'brother' instead of 'that boy'?"

"That's not what I meant."

Sara hesitated.

For some time now, she had been intimidated by Kane's words.

Just like now.

"I've exhausted my mana after returning from the hidden territory. I need to perform mana breathing here, so please protect me."

"Got it!"

Sara nodded.

'I wanted to observe him closely anyway. I'll analyze the flow of his mana.'

Ignoring Sara's eager gaze, Kane sat down.

He immediately began his mana breathing.

Sara and Camilla watched Kane intently.

***

Cedric left the mansion.

The knights who had been waiting outside surrounded him.

"How is His Excellency?"

"Is he alright?"

"He was always so strong on the battlefield but seeing him suddenly collapse… it's very unsettling."

"Commander, please tell us what's going on."

Cedric reassured the knights.

"His Excellency has collapsed due to accumulated fatigue and needs some rest."

"Phew, that's a relief."

"I thought something terrible had happened to him."

"Hey, rookie, don't say such things carelessly. You need to learn to stay quiet to live long."

"You fool, always saying unnecessary things and getting into trouble."

The knights' faces brightened up.

"But Commander, did you see the Young Master?"

"Yes, I did."

"Doesn't he seem different to you?"

"Do you all feel that way too?"

"He seemed like a completely different person."

"So, I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Vice-commander."

"Yes, sir!"

"Take some of the men and go to the Forest of Deadly Poison."

The knights' expressions darkened again.

"Is it a subjugation mission?"

"Sending us out immediately without rest is too harsh."

"Can't we rest for just one day?"

"It's not a subjugation mission. You just need to go to the Forest of Deadly Poison, check one thing, and come back."

"What should we check?"

"Report on how many mutated monster corpses there are."

Cedric's serious tone.

The Vice-commander Fabi Scheider replied in a solemn voice.

"We will leave immediately."

Fabi took some of the knights and departed for the Forest of Deadly Poison.

Cedric assigned different tasks to the remaining men.

"You all will come with me to another territory to get the blood of a high-grade mutated troll."

"High-grade blood will be very expensive."

"I wonder if there's even a merchant who sells it."

"Even if we find one, we might not have enough money to buy it."

"Just find it. Time is of the essence, so move quickly."

As soon as Cedric gave the order, the previously complaining knights moved swiftly and efficiently.

Vice-commander Fabi arrived at the Forest of Deadly Poison with the knights.

"The miasma here seems very thin?"

"The barrier is gone too, Vice-commander."

"Let's head inside first."

Fabi quickly walked deeper into the forest.

The smell of blood wafting through the air was nauseating.

It was stronger than the scent of miasma and poison.

"The smell is revolting. What on earth happened here?"

Fabi cautiously moved forward, gripping his sword.

Despite being a mid-tier 6th-class knight, this was the hidden territory.

An area fraught with unknown dangers.

Carelessness meant death.

He advanced carefully with the knights, maintaining vigilance.

"Vice-commander, look ahead! It's a mutated monster's corpse."

"So that's the source of the blood smell."

Fabi kneeled next to the fallen mutated monster.

"It's a mother Speeder."

The knights formed a protective stance around Fabi.

Their movements were flawless.

They were rightly called the Elite Knights of Rehinar.

"It appears to have died only a day or so ago."

Mana traces were still emanating from the corpse.

The mother Speeder's poison had also significantly lessened.

But it hadn't disappeared.

"Who could have killed so many mutated monsters?"

"Could it have been the Blue Wolf Mercenary Corps?"

"Would those idiots risk their lives to hunt like this?"

"True, if it were them, they would have torn up the entire area by now. It wasn't them."

Fabi's voice grew sharper, tinged with hostility.

The Blue Wolf Mercenary Corps used to be affiliated with Rehinar.

Though they were the lowest-ranked group, they were once comrades.

But when Rehinar started to collapse, the Blue Wolf Mercenary Corps were the first to turn their backs.

This betrayal left Fabi with a poor opinion of them.

"And if it were those guys, they would have collected all the scattered corpses."

"Oh, since when did you start using your brain?"

"Hey! Do you think I got to this position just by brute strength? I rose through the ranks with a mix of combat skills and tactics."

Fabi puffed out his chest with pride.

The tense atmosphere lightened considerably.

He was the morale booster of the Guardian Knights.

Unlike Cedric, who didn't understand jokes at all, Fabi had an opposite personality.

"Then who do you think took down all these mutated monsters?"

"Commander Cedric must know since he sent us here."

"But Commander returned to Rehinar with us today."

"Ah, you talk too much. Just take my word for it."

"Tsk, do you think we don't know you're just shouting at us because you failed to act serious?"

"Hey, watch your mouth or I'll shut it for you."

Fabi pretended to raise his arm at one of the knights.

Just then, another knight's voice came from ahead.

"The smell of blood is getting stronger as we go deeper. I think we'll find more mutated monster corpses if we go further."

"I agree. Let's move on."

Fabi and the knights moved forward, stepping over scattered corpses.

"What on earth is this…."

"We've already found over fifty corpses."

"If we include the young Speeders, it's over a hundred."

These were mutated monsters, not regular ones.

Even among monsters of the same rank, those labeled as mutated were significantly stronger.

Miasma-induced mutations granted them special abilities, making them even more challenging to deal with.

Yet, such mutated monsters were strewn all over the ground.

"Hold on."

"What is it?"

"Doesn't this one look different from the others?"

"It's bigger."

"If this is the middle section, it must be the King Speeder."

"It takes at least a mid-tier 3rd-class knight to fight one of those."

"Exactly… but it's dead?"

"Who could have taken this place down?"

Fabi had someone in mind at the knight's question.

'It can't be, can it?'

The Young Master who showed up in rags.

If it weren't for Camilla, he wouldn't have recognized him.

"We need to return and ask the Commander."

"I'm really curious who cleared this place."

Fabi and the knights turned back.

As they were about to leave, one of the knights pointed to a tree.

"It's clear that someone came here to hunt. Doesn't it look like someone was caught by a Speeder?"

"Indeed. Speeders wrap their prey in silk, just like that…."

"Which means there could still be Speeders around."

"We've finished our task, so let's return."

Fabi and the knights quickly exited the hidden territory.

* * *

"Phew."

Kane closed his eyes and performed mana breathing.

A purple mist emanated from his body, soon forming a stream that circled around him.

Not only that, but the mist, which wriggled like worms, also flickered like flames.

[Blood Mark (2 Runes) is restoring your mana.]

…

'After reaching Beginner 3rd-class, the flow of mana feels so natural.'

Although it was nowhere near the level when he was in 8th class, he was satisfied with his current state.

'As I rise in class, my mana recovery speed will surpass that of when I was Ray Hatzfeld.'

Two types of breathing techniques, coupled with the rarest mark in this game, the Blood Mark, granted him immense recovery capabilities.

'Eventually, I won't need to sit and perform mana breathing like this.'

In truth, a Blood Knight, who has a Blood Mark, didn't need to sit and perform mana breathing.

A Blood Knight's specialty was mana absorption—draining an opponent's power to enhance one's own. This was the greatest advantage of a Blood Knight.

'I should get up now.'

It seemed a considerable amount of time had passed.

Even with his accelerated mana recovery, it still took a whole day for him as a Beginner 3rd-class knight to fully recover his mana.

He couldn't bear the eyes staring at him any longer.

Four eyes had been fixed on him without a moment's break.

He stopped his mana breathing and opened his eyes.

Sara was sitting right in front of him, staring wide-eyed.

Next to her, Camilla spoke up.

"Have you already finished recovering your mana, Young Master?"

Looking outside, it was already dark.

He had started his mana breathing during the day, so at least six hours must have passed.

"This should be enough to treat Father. Where is Sir Cedric?"

Since he didn't see Cedric around, Camilla answered on his behalf.

"He's outside… But, Brother!"

"Yes?"

"What happened to your Fire Mark?"

Sara finally asked about the Fire Mark.

He pondered how to explain it.

Knowing it would be difficult for her to understand, he decided to use the Blood Knight story as a cover.

"You're familiar with our family's legend, right?"

"Of course. It's said that our founder was born with the 'Blood Mark' and practiced two types of breathing techniques…"

She was half right and half wrong.

The founder of Rehinar wasn't born with the Blood Mark; it was forcibly implanted.

Those who sold their souls to demons in order to protect the continent from the god of purification were known as Blood Knights.

A power that used one's life as collateral.

These figures now only existed in legends.

"That answer should suffice. I'll leave the rest to your imagination."

"Ugh, just tell me! Don't leave it ambiguous."

"Is your curiosity more important than treating Father?"

"No, but…"

"I need to treat Father now, so don't interrupt. Sir Cedric, please come in."

Click.

Cedric, who had been waiting outside, entered the room.

"Did you get the blood of a mutated troll?"

"Here it is."

Cedric handed over the flask.

Feeling the strong mana, it was undoubtedly of high-grade.

"The amount is sufficient. But where did you leave your spear?"

"The edge had gone dull, so I left it at the forge. Anyway, with this much blood, can you heal His Excellency?"

Cedric's expression had been unchanged until a moment ago. Now, he looked more earnest than ever. His loyalty to his master was evident.

'To exchange his life-like weapon for mere mutated troll blood for his master. Such loyalty and abilities are truly admirable.'

The blood of a high-grade mutated troll is a 3-star material. That means it costs hundreds of thousands of gold.

Any knight Commander of a higher noble family could easily afford it. But Rehinar was poor. Cedric was even unpaid.

All the money saved went into repairing equipment. There was no way he had any money. In the end, he sold his weapon to obtain the blood of the mutated troll.

"Rehinar owes Sir Cedric a great debt. If you had taken the Mana Stone, you could have easily obtained the troll's blood."

"Please do not concern yourself with that. I beg of you, heal His Excellency."

Cedric didn't say anything more. He wasn't the type to offer unnecessary explanations. It was very pleasing.

"Father's poison will be cured."

Kane turned and approached Duke Carl, who was lying down.

[Carl Rehinar (Lv.99)(MAX)]

Grade: ★★★★★

Age: 45

Occupation: Duke of Rehinar

Mana Affinity: Water Oath (SSR)(4 Runes)

Favorability: 60 (Intimate)

-Basic Stats-

[Health: SR -> (B-)]

[Mana: SR -> (B-)]

[Physical: SR+ -> (D-)]

[Strength: SR- -> (C+)]

[Agility: SR -> (D)]

Traits: Star of the Sword (SR), Master of Protection (SR-), Western Supreme Commander (SR), Guardian of the Empire (SR)

Skills: Blue Tiger's Breath (SR), Twin Sword Technique of Protection (SR)

*Special Note: Poisoned by the Formlessness Poison, Increased Mana Hemorrhage.

…

'Mana crystal herb is a deadly poison. Even the Master of Protection trait cannot withstand it.'

Carl Rehinar, a man with abilities surpassing Cedric, was on the brink of death. One of the Twelve Star Lords at the Mid-tier of the 8th Class was hovering between life and death.

'I won't let him die.'

Ding–

[A quest has arrived.]

…

As expected.

Immediately, he checked the notification.