Chapter 118

While Bernid and his party were facing a life-or-death crisis due to Kahaad’s intrusion, things weren’t going smoothly on Yuwon’s side either.

Swoooosh—!

“Eek!”

A massive tree hurled by the Orc Chieftain Muquiam grazed right past Yuwon’s face, and at the same time, the River Serpent’s tail came crashing toward the back of his head.

Crash! Boom—!

Thanks to Yuwon dodging just in time, the tree struck the serpent’s tail instead, shattering into countless splinters.

Because the attacks aimed at Yuwon canceled each other out, Muquiam and the River Serpent glared at one another again as if ready to kill, roaring furiously.

“Graaaahk—!”

“Kieeeek—!”

‘Thank goodness those lunatics aren’t attacking in tandem. If they had joined forces…’

If they had, Yuwon might truly have died. The only reason he was still breathing between the two monsters was that this was not a two-on-one fight but a three-way brawl.

‘Damn it, that’s not the issue right now. Something’s happened over there…’

Even while fending off their attacks, Yuwon’s mind was filled with worry for his companions.

Just a few minutes ago, he had clearly sensed Kahaad’s overwhelming aura overlapping with Bernid’s group.

‘That kind of power… it has to be a monster sitting at the very peak of the Great Jungle. If it’s that sort of creature, even the three of them together don’t stand a chance.’

Yuwon racked his brain, searching for a way to shake off the two beasts and escape the battle. But that thought didn’t last long—no, it couldn’t.

Neither Muquiam nor the River Serpent allowed Yuwon even a moment’s distraction.

“Hup!”

Swoosh—! Crunch!

Muquiam’s palm, the size of a man’s torso, swept across where Yuwon had just stood, crushing the ground into pulp. Half a beat later, the serpent spewed venom like a stream of fire.

Ssss—

Yuwon took a large step back, widening the distance between himself and the enemies, his expression dark.

It wasn’t Muquiam’s mighty axe nor the serpent’s poison clouding the field that frightened Yuwon. His fear lay elsewhere.

‘Damn it… maybe I should’ve come alone…’

It was for his comrades’ safety.

Even now, the storm of Kahaad’s magic in the distance wasn’t weakening—it was only growing stronger.

The more violent that malicious energy became, the heavier Yuwon’s anxiety grew.

‘Can Terrien, Hastings, and Bernid really survive without me in a place like this?’

When he thought about it rationally, their odds of survival looked grim. Each of them was skilled in the Empire, but in this brutal jungle ruled by the law of the strong, such skill meant little.

‘What do I do…?’

His heart was already reaching toward his comrades, but his body couldn’t follow.

Even more than the enemy attacks flashing before his eyes, those worries were draining Yuwon’s strength.

The anxiety dulled his sharpness—after missing counterattack opportunities one after another, Yuwon finally realized it.

Grit—

‘…No, I’ll trust them. I have to. If they’re the ones I know, they’ll pull through. They’ll survive somehow.’

He clenched his teeth. Standing around wringing his hands in worry wasn’t Yuwon’s way.

He hardened his resolve and turned his focus once more to the enemies before him.

‘If I’m that worried, there’s only one thing to do—defeat every last one of these bastards holding me here and go to where I’m needed.’

They say the eyes are windows to the soul.

The turbulence in Yuwon’s gaze calmed completely, as though it had never existed.

There was no longer doubt nor fear.

A chilling blue gleam flashed in his eyes.

The abyss reflected in his blade was now aimed squarely at his foes.

Following the mysterious voice, Terrien and Hastings fled from Kahaad’s monstrous grasp.

Tap— tap—!

Forcing their exhausted legs to move, they chased after that voice.

After about three minutes of running, they came upon a group of oddly dressed men.

“Hmmm…”

Their leather-patched clothing was strange enough, but what caught Hastings’s eye were the animal heads they wore in place of helmets.

‘Lions, tigers, wolves… even an orc’s head? What peculiar taste…’

Each of the mysterious men wore a different creature’s head atop their own. As an odd tension lingered between the two groups, Hastings cautiously broke the silence.

“…Was it you? The one who showed us the escape route…?”

At his question, the men wearing the lion, wolf, and orc heads muttered among themselves in their own tongue.

“Looks like they really did come from the continent. I don’t know what they’re saying, but that’s definitely Imperial speech. I remember hearing it from the old man once.”

“Yeah, it’s Imperial all right.”

“But what the hell are these continent folks doing here…?”

“That’s what you’re gonna ask. Hey, Sparrow. You learned some Imperial from the old man, didn’t you? You do the talking.”

At the lion-headed man’s command, a man called Sparrow nervously stepped forward. His headpiece looked to be made from the head of some huge raptor—far too large to fit the nickname.

“Feels like that one’s the interpreter…”

“I think so too…”

Just as Terrien and Hastings focused their attention on Sparrow’s mouth, the man who had both groups waiting in anticipation finally spoke.

“Hey, you bastards! How are you doin’?”

It was proof that, wherever you went in the world, the first words one picked up in a foreign language were inevitably curses.

“Ha… hahaha…”

Thankfully, Sparrow’s harmless smile and clumsy pronunciation kept things from turning into disaster.

And thus began the first encounter between the Southern Great Jungle’s natives and Terrien Calmodet and Hastings Bartlett.

“Child, become my disciple.”

In a tent reeking of old leather, Bernid awoke to those words.

Standing before him was Kahaad, as if he had been there all along.

“…Who are you?”

Kahaad, having removed his robe, looked completely normal—a man in his early sixties, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. He bore the refined air of an aging gentleman.

‘Who is this person to suddenly ask me to become his disciple? Wait… this voice…!’

Bernid realized that the man standing before him, speaking with Kahaad’s voice, was the same mysterious figure who had attacked their group.

“Sorry, what did you just say…?”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear. I said, become my disciple. You saw it too, didn’t you? My power.”

“Why… why are you suddenly saying that?”

Bernid was bewildered by the inexplicable situation he woke up to. Yet Kahaad’s tone toward him was impossibly gentle.

“Others merely fear or revere the power they see on the surface. None of them grasp the true ‘principle of magic.’ But you were different. I’ve met countless magicians and shamans in my lifetime—many dozens of times stronger than you are now. Yet not a single one of them ever looked at me with the eyes you did.”

The look Bernid had given him back then was identical to the one Kahaad himself had worn long ago when he first glimpsed the wall separating him from the truth of magic.

“My… my eyes, you mean…?”

Knowing all too well that the being before him was beyond his reach, Bernid spoke cautiously.

“Yes, your eyes. You and I are the only ones who have seen that wall. Because you’ve seen it, you have been chosen by me.”

“…Chosen?”

“Indeed. You and I have both been chosen by mana itself. Follow my guidance and pursue the truth of magic. I shall make you the second strongest magician in the world.”

“And… who’s the first?”

Amused by the question, Kahaad burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! You ask because you don’t know? Why, me, of course—Rok Kahaad!”

“Hmmm…”

Bernid fell into brief thought.

Judging from his manner and words, the man calling himself Rok Kahaad was clearly insane.

‘But he really is absurdly strong… Is he seriously asking to take me as his disciple?’

As if reading Bernid’s thoughts, Kahaad smiled slyly.

“Haha, yes, yes. I understand. It’s hard to believe that a great magician like me would so readily take on a disciple. Then think of it this way—it might help you understand.”

“…?”

“Imagine this: aside from you, every creature in the world is either a monkey or something even less. You wield fire and lightning in both hands, while they clutch stones and make meaningless noises.”

‘What kind of nonsense is this?’

Bernid had never imagined such a world. Pretending to ponder, he twitched an eyebrow.

“Well… I’ve never thought about it, but it sounds awfully lonely.”

Pleased by the answer, Kahaad smiled like a child.

“Exactly! That’s what I felt in this world. And then, before me, a child appeared—one who could speak my language. You are that child to me, the one who showed me I am not alone in this world.”

“Ah…”

The brightness in Kahaad’s eyes as he spoke was so intense that it was almost terrifying.

The way he looked at Bernid was like a mother bird gazing lovingly at her chick.

However, those eyes—long devoid of focus—made the sight eerily unsettling.

‘Refusing isn’t an option… He’d kill me if I did. Right, this is my only way to survive. And who knows, maybe I’ll really get strong enough to rival this monster.’

Bernid Aphahiel, the Third Prince who had once fallen so low as to become Yuwon’s magical slave, didn’t take long to decide.

“Then… please teach me—”

But Kahaad’s voice cut him off, faster than his own.

“Child, are you prepared to walk the path of magic?”

A fateful opportunity had found Bernid—one utterly beyond imagination, in a place he never expected.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep