I pulled my sword from the last lizard’s convulsing body, blood pouring out from the deep wound, my fingers stinging dully from the effort. There were, to my greatest horror, bloody streaks smearing Beatrice’s surface. I quickly checked to see if there was any real damage.

  Relief washed over me when I couldn’t spot any nicks or dents in my sword. I was too liberal and honestly a bit reckless with the way I handled my weapon, especially the last move where I had to use most of my internal energy to drill past the hard membrane covering the creature’s side.

  We were good, though.

  It was fine.

  I gave a quick look over to the aftermath of the situation, glancing toward the group of Mages standing a bit further to the back, then at Kal and his father who stood staring strangely at me. I thought I would’ve felt heroic and energized at having saved a bunch of people from danger, but strangely, all I could think of was who was going to get the loot.

  Damn.

  The things my Mother and her aides did to me…

  When did I become such a selfish monster?

  But again, there were six Bronze Cores. Added to the earlier Greytooth’s Core that I’d already consumed, that would bring the total to seven. It wasn’t much, but my options were limited. It was either work on my internal energy through brutal training and raise it enough to reach the Silver Rank—which would take at least a year or two at this pace—or consume about 1000 Bronze Cores like a real champ.

  “I don’t think he’s lost, Meris,” I heard one of the Mages say. “I think he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.”

  “How?” said the staff-wielding, green-eyed woman who carried herself with the big-sis energy. “He looks so young.”

  “Girls, you’re aware that he can hear you, right?” The father shook his head and hefted his sword to his shoulder, stepping around the monster corpses and closer to me. “Friend, can you forgive my daughters for this brief display of indecency? It is not every day that they see a Bronze Knight around your age.”

  “Bronze Knight?” Kal muttered silently, his shoulder drooping as his hazy eyes settled on his sword. “I’m a Bronze Knight…”

  “No worries, Sir,” I said, giving the father a nod. “I should’ve been more clear with my intentions as well. I didn’t expect you to be this… generous. Most people would’ve left me alone, especially if a bunch of monsters were chasing them.”

  That was the truth. Even I was surprised that I felt compelled to save a bunch of strangers when in my first life all I had ever wanted was to keep away from people. Granted, there was some romance involved in the situation—the heroic bravery of a Knight saving people and so on—but it still didn’t change the fact that it was dangerous.

  In the end, I was glad I did it. There was something deeply satisfying about giving people a shock by granting them a great performance. Nobody clapped, though, which was a bummer.

  I guessed you could only ask so much from life.

  “I get that your presence here is not due to an unfortunate accident,” the father said. He must’ve noticed the glances I kept sneaking toward the monsters, so he added with a smile, “Feel free to take the Cores. Naturally, they should belong to you.”

  “What?” Kal’s eyes widened. “Father, we can’t let him have everything! We barely have any money left after you dragged us here to this plane and forced us to live with those villagers. And what’s a kid supposed to do with these Cores, anyway? It’s going to—”

  “Thanks, sir. You’re too kind.” I bowed slightly toward the father before smiling up at Kal’s face. “I’m going to eat them.”

  “You’re going to do what?” Kal scowled. “You can’t eat all six of those Bronze Cores. You’ll die.”

  “I think I can manage.” I waved him off and ripped a piece from my sleeve, wiping the bloody streaks on Beatrice’s face before giving them a chance to dry off.

  “There’s something wrong with this kid,” I heard Kal mumble under his breath.

  “Think you could take him on?” his father asked shortly.

  “Him?” Kal paused, his eyes narrowing. “Are you comparing me to a child? Do you think so little of me, Father?”

  “Answer the question,” the father demanded. “Could you take him on had you two crossed paths as enemies?”

  “Of course—”

  The slap was so fast I had barely any time to react before Kal’s face smashed into the ground. His father stepped over and glared down at him. The youngest sister flinched at this sudden act of violence, but the others seemed hardly surprised.

  “You think you’re something?” The father jabbed with a thick finger into Kal’s reddened face. “You think you’ve all the talent in the world and that you can do as you please? He just took down four Spikeback Lizards and even I couldn’t see how he pulled off that last move, yet you’re still acting like a spoilt brat too good for anything! I didn’t raise you to become a brainless, over-confident fool who’s going to get himself killed at the first chance he’d get!”

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  “Father, maybe don’t do this in front of a stranger?” the green-eyed big sis said tiredly. “I believe Kal will learn his lesson once he has the chance to go over what had just happened.”

  “None of this is my fault!” Kal pulled himself wincing to his feet, holding his slightly swollen cheek with one hand. He looked more angry than hurt, which I guessed was only normal since he’d just gotten slapped in front of his sisters. “We wouldn’t have been here had Reni not acted like a damned saint! Why don’t you say something to her instead of beating your one son who at least had the guts to fight beside you?”

  “Because unlike you, who thinks he’s the greatest Knight that has ever existed, she knows she’s in the wrong,” the father said through clenched teeth. The man seemed like he’d aged a good ten years in the short while since this whole family drama started. “Look at her. She’s got no tears left to shed. You think she will do something stupid like this ever again?”

  She did look pretty beat, with her eyes swollen and curls of her autumn hair sticking all over her face, still trembling like a scared kitten. That expression belonged to someone who’d just received a harsh lesson and fully intended to keep it.

  Then again, I didn’t have the whole story. It could be that our friend Kal here might’ve gone through a difficult childhood. Or it could be a whole other thing.

  Not my problem, really.

  I was more interested in tasting Spikeback Lizard meat since I remembered Belfray had told me beyond their hard shell and that odd liquid lay a true treat that was hard to find in this forest. Eating Cores could only do so much to sate one’s hunger. I needed something real, and I needed it before this place began crawling with other monsters.

  So while the family continued with their back and forth, I began carving open the lizard corpses and pulling out the spheres. Carrying them would take some effort. I couldn’t take more meat than I could eat, as well. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to preserve fresh meat without the blessings of modern technology. I just didn’t want to carry too much of it. That could make me a more plump target than I already was.

  By the time I got all six of the Cores and some meat, the chaos had somewhat settled. Two of the sisters, the big ones, were busy talking with Kal to the side while the father had taken the youngest sister into his arms. He raised his head to me when I dusted my hands and prepared to take off in a different direction.

  “Already thinking about the next step, are you?” he said with a smile that strained on his lips, while the youngest sister of the family peeked out from her father’s arms with curiosity. “Very well. But let Reni do a check on you before you go on your way. She’s a good Healer.”

  Really?

  I didn’t say that, of course, but it was hard to believe that this fragile young woman was one of the rare healers. Those were Mages who had to undergo a strict and impossibly difficult training to even begin coming close to being useful. We had one Diamond Rank Healer in the mansion, namely Paul the gardener, who could supposedly heal the gravest of wounds if given enough time, but nowadays poured every bit of his rare wisdom into ensuring our giant land remained green through and through.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’m fine,” I said. The Undying was busy working on my bruises even as we speak, so I didn’t want to burden this unfortunate young woman anymore. She’d already gone through a lot. “And I’m not sure if I’m allowed to accept outside help.”

  It took me a second to realize that I’d said those words out loud, which definitely made for a strange sight since I’d turned toward the thick canopy as though I was waiting for an answer from the skies.

  “Is that… so?” The father studied the particular part of the canopy I’d been peering at for a second, then smiled awkwardly and nodded. My cheeks burned with shame. “Then let us not hold you any longer. If you ever find yourself in need of help, however, do pay a visit to our little camp. You can't miss it. Take north and keep walking until you’re out of the forest, and tell them you’re a friend of Taral.”

  “You have a camp?” I blurted out. “I thought they didn’t do that here in Palark. The whole establishing safe zones thing, I mean.”

  “They have certain army encampments scattered across this plane, mostly focused around the important mines, but you’re not wrong. For smaller tasks, they often leave village folk to their own and interfere only when the quotas aren’t met.”

  “Is that why you’re here?” I asked. These people didn’t look like your average villagers. “You have quotas to fill?”

  “No, we’re here to offer our strength to our neighbors,” Taral’s smile strained yet again on his lips as he glanced over to his son. “And earn ourselves valuable experience as adventurers in the process. At least that was the plan, but I’m afraid I haven’t considered all the possibilities. You must think of us as fools after witnessing that—”

  “Not really,” I said, shaking my head. “I'm trying not to feel strongly about anything, which includes people. Accidents can happen anytime. There’s no escaping them in a forest like this one.”

  “You’re surprisingly more mature than I… expected,” Taral said, studying my face. “You’re not from Palark, are you? I would’ve known had such a talent been around. How old are you?”

  “Nine.”

  There was an audible hiss. It came from Kal, who’d been secretly keeping one ear on our conversation. His sisters looked just as surprised, if not terrified. Taral, to his credit, managed to keep somewhat of a normal expression.

  “We all hear such tales, but I’d never had the chance to actually witness one in person,” Taral said. “A Bronze Knight at the young age of nine who displays a quality nearly bordering on that of a Silver Knight. What’s your name, if I may ask, young friend?”

  “I can’t tell you that,” I said simply. This was getting a bit too uncomfortable for my taste, which was why I had to be off on my own way. “Sorry, I need to go. I wish you and your family a safe trip.”

  “Wait—”

  The Grade 1 Quick Step Rune pushed me toward where the waves of the river gurgled in the distance, the Internal Cores banging loudly against one another in my back, the slap of fresh meat tucked neatly between them. My notebook and magical leathers were safe, but I might have to rearrange them when I had the chance.

  For now, though, all I wanted was to get away from these people. I’d already spent way too much time talking to them, anyway. There were more monsters to hunt out in the forest, more dangers to face, and, more importantly, a fancy meal to be had. Who knew, I might actually fancy myself a cold shower if I could find a safe spot.

  Before I could put some distance between us, though, I heard something unusual behind me. The voice belonged to the father, Taral, and he sounded as if he were talking more to himself than to the others.

  “Wait... I think I've heard Lord Master had a bastard son around this age who, unlike the others, was a true talent and carried himself with a different grace… That can’t be him, right? There is no way.”

  I quickened my pace and vanished into the forest, leaving the family alone with the corpses, trying not to think too much about the sudden, ominous feeling that prickled my skin.

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