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‘These damned brats deserve a good beating!’

While he was fuming, unable to believe his eyes, a voice that further fueled his anger reached his ears.

“Head Elder. Please calm down. No matter how frustrated you are, you can’t act like this.”

“Haha, you’re right. Elders. I’ll distribute them fairly, one by one. Besides, there are plenty of trash Magic Stones in this bundle, so feel free to use them.”

“S-stop… Gaaaah!”

“Hehe, maintain your dignity. It seems impossible. Let’s give one to the Head Elder first.”

‘Shut up. Just shut up!’

The back of his neck felt so hot that he felt like he would faint at any moment.

…What did he say? Maintain dignity?

Do they even know what kind of Magic Stones these are?

How dare they use these Magic Stones like this?

These are Magic Stones that he painstakingly collected, one by one, for decades, scouring every corner of Mount Khaoto!

‘Ruin, you little…’

If these were heirlooms passed down from previous generations, he wouldn’t be this enraged.

When Norman first inherited the position of Head Elder and entered Samael’s secret vault…

There was nothing but rolling pebbles in there.

‘Heirlooms, my foot. I collected all of these, me!’

One day, after accidentally discovering a Magic Stone in a remote location, he started searching for hidden areas in his spare time, like a herbalist seeking rare herbs.

At first, it began with a sense of responsibility to fill the vault, but as time passed, he found joy in collecting them.

He risked his life climbing steep cliffs.

He explored hidden caves that other elders didn’t even know existed.

Seeing the Magic Stones gradually increasing in the vault each year brought him immense satisfaction…

But what did they say?

Worthless, trash Magic Stones?

Where did these ungrateful brats come from?

He shouldn’t have taken that ungrateful Ruin to the vault. He should have kept it a secret, hidden from everyone.

‘No.’

On second thought, this wasn’t his fault. Who would have thought they would betray him like this?

Those reckless fools. Ungrateful brats. They deserve to be taken by the devil.

“…Sigh.”

This wasn’t something he could even tell the other elders. If he did, they would just gratefully accept them, saying, ‘Thank you, ancestors. We will put them to good use.’

He couldn’t claim now, ‘I collected all those Magic Stones. They’re all mine!’ They would just mock him for being greedy.

It was then that Norman heard Ruin’s voice.

“Here, elders. If you succeed, the Magic Stones won’t break, so try your best.”

It was as if he was saying it for Norman to hear.

Norman unconsciously looked at the Magic Stone in his hand.

Memories of his hard work collecting Magic Stones flashed before his eyes.

“…”

Suddenly, Norman clenched his fist. No matter how resentful he felt towards Ruin, the Magic Stone in his hand was more important right now.

‘I have to do it. I have to succeed first. I have to protect the Magic Stones.’

Norman activated one of the four Mana Circles engraved on his heart.

1st Circle Magic Barrier

Slowly guiding the flow of mana, he carefully directs it towards his fingertips.

“Head Elder Norman!”

Ruin’s sudden call made his blood boil, but Norman calmly maintained his focus.

Fully sensing and guiding the flow of mana within his body, from his arm to his hand, and then to the Magic Stone.

Whiiir-

‘Is it… a success?’

“Why aren’t you answering, Head Elder Norman? Anyway… good luck.”

Crack- Shatter-

The Magic Stone in his hand crumbles into dust.

“No!”

At the same time, the elders beside him fail simultaneously, and Magic Stone dust scatters in the air.

Shatter- Shatter- Shatter-

“No! No! Don’t break them! You fools who don’t know their value!”

“You’re giving me a heart attack. Why are you shouting, Head Elder?”

“You ignorant fools!”

The elders were startled and unconsciously stepped back.

‘Has he gone senile?’

Norman was staring at the elders with bloodshot eyes, as if possessed by a demon. Isaac even closed his mouth, fearing that Norman might attack if anyone said another word.

“Why are you breaking them? Focus. I said focus. You useless elders.”

Ruin observed the scene, then walked away, muttering quietly.

“Well, I’ll be going then… Good luck.”

Norman, oblivious to Ruin’s departure, continued to berate the elders.

“All of you elders, focus!”

“But Head Elder, you just broke one too…”

“Shut up! I don’t know what you’re talking about. Anyway, don’t break them. Anyone who breaks one will no longer be considered my elder!”

* * *

After encouraging the esteemed elders, I slipped away like a stray cat.

I didn’t want to disturb the elders who were diligently training with all their might.

While walking along the mountainside, I saw a stream and took a break to quench my thirst.

Splash-

The cool water splashed refreshingly against my face.

Suddenly, the image of the joyful elders came to mind, and I felt happy too. The old saying was true. This is why we should respect our elders.

“Hmm.”

Thinking back, I was impressed with myself.

Mount Khaoto was so vast that I got a bit lost, but fortunately, I found Head Elder Norman’s footprints nearby and successfully discovered the secret vault.

‘How cool.’

My efforts paid off. I didn’t expect the elders to be this happy. Honestly, they were jumping around so much that it was hard to tell if they were happy or upset.

Especially Head Elder Norman.

He was like a tantrum-throwing child and a senile old man at the same time.

Anyway, there’s one thing I didn’t tell the elders.

Even if I put a barrier spell on those trash Magic Stones, it wouldn’t make much difference. Even if they succeed, they’ll break after one or two uses.

I’m not usually one to hide things, but I had a feeling that if I told them the truth, Head Elder Norman might jump around and collapse, so I deliberately kept quiet.

As expected, I’m a person who respects the elderly.

But there was nothing to worry about. They wouldn’t succeed anyway.

Infusing mana into raw Magic Stones is not a simple task. Even a basic 1st Circle spell requires extreme precision; the slightest mistake will shatter these trash Magic Stones.

It’s a tedious task that demands utmost concentration.

‘It’ll take at least three months.’

In my judgement, it would take the elders at least three months to succeed, even if by sheer luck. Suddenly curious about Head Elder Norman’s reaction, I quickly turned around.

Someone was walking towards me. It was too dark to see their face clearly.

‘Could it be the Head Elder chasing after me?’

I quietly observed the approaching figure, and they, walking without a care, also noticed me. Our eyes met.

“Boss?”

Surprised, I spoke to Zion, who was stepping back.

“What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re on an errand for the Head Elder?”

“What are you talking about, boss? I just finished dinner and came up here for a break. I still have some time left.”

Evenings in the mountains are darker than on flat ground. Come to think of it, the sun had set not too long ago.

“I see.”

Zion finally approached, casually took off his shoes, and dipped his feet into the cold stream.

Splash-

With his feet in the water, Zion looked up at the sky.

Through the thick foliage, the fragmented night sky revealed stars, one by one.

“Ah, this is nice!”

Looking at Zion’s relaxed expression, I asked,

“Do you come here often?”

Zion just smiled and nodded.

“Did you wash up?”

“Just dipping my feet here for a bit. I have to go back to training soon anyway.”

‘Hmm.’

No wonder there was a sudden funky smell.

It felt strange that Zion was dipping his feet in the same water I had just been drinking from.

I stared at Zion’s wiggling toes underwater for a moment, then shook my head.

‘I’ll let it slide.’

Zion, still gazing at the sky, spoke.

“What are you doing here, boss?”

“Just hanging around. Respecting elders is tiring.”

“There you go again with the weird talk. Are you going out today?”

“Going out where? I told you I’m not going anywhere.”

“…”

Zion lowered his chin and looked at me.

“Well, if you do go out, let’s go together.”

“Why?”

“There must be a reason why you keep going out and coming back. I’m curious what you’re up to.”

“You’re curious about a lot of things. What are you going to do with that information?”

“You always look tired after going out. Something’s not right. That’s my gut feeling. I’ll help you, so let’s go together.”

I smacked the back of Zion’s unguarded head. With a thud, his body lurched forward, and he face-planted into the stream.

“Pfft! Oh, sh…!”

Now Zion had also tasted the smelly water.

But since it was his own feet, it shouldn’t matter.

“Stop fooling around and go train. That’s how you can help.”

“Damn it. This is bullshit.”

“I’m going.”

“Ah, wait for me!”

As I turned and started descending the mountainside, Zion quickly emerged from the stream and joined me.

On the way down, Zion used fire magic to dry his soggy clothes.

Soon, the main house came into view, followed by the training grounds. Scarecrow targets were already ablaze at the edge of the grounds.

Zion said with a satisfied expression,

“Those guys are working hard.”

“Aren’t you going to join them?”

I pretended to kick Zion, who was hesitating. He quickly backed away and said,

“You’re really not going out, are you?”

“I’m not.”

Of course, that was a lie.

I didn’t want the hassle of bringing him along. I avoided Zion’s gaze and slipped out the main gate.

* * *

As I cautiously circled the eastern district, the central area was once again nearly deserted.

The flashy lights of the entertainment district felt awkward with so few people around.

There were hardly any outsiders, only a few burly men with swords roaming about. Even their numbers seemed fewer than usual.

This usually meant one of two things:

Either a fight had broken out somewhere else, or they were all holed up together somewhere.

There was nothing else worth seeing, so I turned back towards the family estate. Suddenly, I whipped my head to the left.

A group of men was walking in the opposite direction, a short distance away.

As we passed each other, one of their profiles looked familiar.

‘Snake Eyes?’

It was Snake and a few of his lackeys.

Perhaps they were too far away to notice me, they were just snickering amongst themselves.

‘Tsk.’

A true gangster should always be aware of their surroundings. It seems that stupid Snake Eyes doesn’t even know that.

Returning to the estate, everything was quiet. The training grounds were empty, suggesting that the idiots’ duel was over.

‘…What time is it?’

Suddenly remembering the words of the scatterbrained alchemist, I hurried back to my room to sleep.

‘He said I need to sleep a lot.’

But the more I tried to sleep, the more awake I became.

After tossing and turning for a while, I finally drifted off. Then, I abruptly woke up, feeling like I had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

“Gasp.”

My face was covered in cold sweat.

“It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare.”

I had a dream.

An old hag with white, disheveled hair and blood-red pupils was throwing stones at me.

I couldn’t move, as if I were tied up. With each hit, the hag made a strange expression, a bizarre mix of joy and sorrow, and let out a creepy giggle.

“Damn.”

What a messed up nightmare. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face to regain my composure.

When I stepped outside, the morning light was already breaking.

As I leaned against the railing to calm my mind, I heard faint footsteps behind me.

Step-

‘Are those the apprentices?’

But as soon as I turned my head, I was startled and slapped myself.

“Demon! Begone, demon!”

The old hag from my dream was approaching, her body limp like a corpse.

With her white hair in disarray and red eyes fixated on me, she shambled closer.

Slap- Slap-

No matter how hard I slapped myself, nothing changed.

‘This isn’t a dream?’

While I stood there dumbfounded, the hag raised her fist in front of me.

I saw that she was clutching a stone in her hand.

“No!”

The nightmare flashed back, and I instinctively tried to strike the hag’s head. But before I could, her mouth opened.

“Barrier.”

——–