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“Yes, sir.”

The middle-aged man, with slightly wavy hair tinged with a hint of red and a neat mustache accentuating his sharp jawline, looked at the butler in front of him.

He was in a good mood, thanks to his recent pleasant encounters with noblewomen.

It was right after he had consumed this particular elixir.

“This elixir seems to have appeared recently. Have we found a good new supplier?”

“Do you like it, sir?”

“Hmm, I can really feel the effect. My lower half is still quite lively.”

The butler smiled slightly at the man’s words.

“Recently, Baron Wilkis Diel successfully completed a subjugation in the Bronselian Forest, and I hear better quality herbs and ingredients for elixirs are being sourced from there.”

“Wilkis Diel? That reckless fellow accomplished such a feat?”

Although it was in the provinces, he had been pushed out to a remote area due to losing power struggles there.

The subjugation assigned to him must have had a very low success rate.

“So he turned misfortune into fortune, it seems.”

But even so, the chances of him returning to the central region were slim. He wasn’t someone worth worrying about.

“Hahaha. Still, thanks to him, I’ve acquired such a fine elixir. The quality is even better than I expected.”

“I believe the key ingredient is an herb called the Red Dragon Claw.”

“If it’s from the Bronselian Forest, that would be Erkal. There must be a distributor.”

“Shall I look into it?”

The man nodded at the butler’s question.

“Find out quickly before others take notice.”

In social circles, stamina was the only weapon that allowed one to entertain many ladies.

After turning 40, he had tried various elixirs as his vitality waned.

Most of them only had a temporary effect, failing to satisfy him fully…

‘This is something special.’

The man picked up the red-tinged pill with a smile on his lips.

“Get as much of it as you can.”

“Yes, Lord Carmelon.”

With that, the butler stepped back, and Count Carmelon carefully closed the box containing the pills, chuckling to himself.

* * *

Thud! Slash!

The monsters’ screams filled the air as blood splattered everywhere.

In the center of the chaos stood a boy wielding a spear.

It was Damian.

“…”

Diel watched Damian fight intently.

At first, she was too busy hiding when monsters appeared, but now she could comfortably watch.

“…Fascinating.”

Diel murmured.

He was a fascinating person the more she saw him.

Those who came with him weren’t very old either. But…

‘They’re stronger than most mercenaries.’

Running a trading company often involves dangerous situations.

As such, Diel had hired many mercenaries over the years.

She had a good grasp of the general skill level of typical mercenaries.

But Damian, Dianal, and Kyle were not ordinary.

Comparing them to regular mercenaries would be an insult to these three.

“Huff.”

After easily dispatching four monsters, Damian exhaled softly and approached Diel.

The heat of battle still lingered in the air.

As Diel looked at Damian, he spoke.

“You don’t need to come with us anymore. If anyone from the unit asks, just say you were doing something in the forest on Diel’s orders.”

“I just… I came because I wanted to. There’s not much to do in the company anyway.”

That was a lie.

With the recent surge in orders, Diel had plenty of work to handle.

But she continued to follow Damian into the forest regularly.

It wasn’t just to watch Damian and his companions fight.

‘I’m curious where they’re headed…’

She was intrigued by their actions.

Diel asked Damian.

“Damian.”

“Yes?”

Damian turned to look at her.

Diel asked, “Were you always this strong?”

“…Pardon?”

It was a sudden question.

But Diel continued immediately.

“It’s just that… the three of you seem far too strong for your age.”

Diel scratched her cheek, embarrassed.

Damian chuckled at her words.

“Strength and age aren’t directly related.”

“But isn’t it usually advantageous to have a fully grown body rather than one that’s still developing?”

She was pointing out the difference between a child and an adult.

Surely, having a fully developed body would make one stronger.

However,

“It’s not entirely wrong, but it’s not completely right either.”

Damian shook his head.

“What matters most is how you develop that body.”

A body that only grows through idleness means nothing.

Of course, in this era of peace, such distinctions didn’t hold much weight.

However,

“A human body is like steel—it gets stronger the more it’s hammered. That’s why I’m here.”

Even after purging the dark energy, the Bronselian Forest was filling up with monsters again.

Though not as challenging as before, it was still a place where one could engage in life-or-death combat.

“This place is an endless training ground for me.”

A training ground that would make him even stronger.

“…”

Diel looked at Damian with a confused expression, not quite understanding.

Damian grinned and said, “There’s no need to think too hard about it. Just think of me as someone who enjoys tough challenges—a bit of a masochist, you could say.”

“What?”

“I’m kidding. Don’t really think I’m a masochist.”

Diel stuck out her tongue and laughed, feeling as though Damian had seen through her thoughts.

“Got it.”

Diel replied with a smile.

The more she got to know him, the more interesting and unique he seemed.

“Sigh, well then…”

Leaving Diel behind, Damian rejoined his group and looked at the fallen monsters.

There were a dozen of them.

“You think this is all?”

“Seems like it. Honestly, it feels like we’ve almost wiped out everything around here.”

“Heh, I wonder if the seniors know. They’re getting off easy with the escort missions thanks to us.”

Kyle chuckled softly.

He wasn’t wrong.

They were handling monsters much deeper inside the forest than the seniors who were escorting the herb gatherers.

Damian casually wiped the blood off his spear and scanned the surroundings.

‘Should we… go a bit deeper?’

Since reaching the 4th level of the Delft Mana Technique, most monsters were no longer a match for Damian.

Even a group of orcs wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

Damian possessed incredible dynamic vision.

Coupled with his extensive combat experience from countless battlefields, and his proficient use of mana, there were few left in this forest who could challenge him.

‘It might not be long before I have to leave this place.’

He had planned to stay for at least another year, but things seemed to be progressing faster than expected.

Damian gazed deeper into the forest.

At that moment—

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

Damian shook his head. But then—

“…?”

Damian turned his gaze in another direction.

His expression suddenly hardened.

Dianal and Kyle noticed and tilted their heads in confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“That…”

Damian began to speak, but then he shouted urgently.

“Everyone, get down!”

Just as Damian yelled—

Whoosh!

Something shot quickly towards the group from beyond the bushes.

Dianal and Kyle quickly ducked to dodge, but—

‘Damn it!’

Swoosh!

Damian immediately threw himself towards Diel, who was standing off to the side.

“Kyah!”

Damian grabbed Diel and rolled on the ground.

Thud! Thud!

“Gah!”

Damian’s face twisted in pain for a moment.

Diel asked in concern, “A-Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

Damian replied shortly.

The wound was less concerning than—

“…Damn it, who did this?”

Damian pulled something out of his right shoulder with his hand.

“…A branch?”

It looked like a thorn but was actually a branch.

Who the hell shot something like this?

“Grrr…”

Then, something approached the group, letting out a low growl.

Dianal’s eyes widened in shock.

“…What is that?”

Dianal couldn’t hide her surprise at the sight of a creature she had never seen before.

She had never heard of such a monster.

Damian looked at the creature.

If a tree were shaped like a person, it would look like this.

Its arms and hands, resembling branches, were quite convincingly crafted.

But most striking were its hollow-looking eyes and pitch-black pupils.

“…Mana corruption?”

It was clearly a sign of mana corruption.

But hadn’t all creatures corrupted by mana died when the crystals shattered?

“…Could it be?”

Could this be a creature of a completely different level, one that even survived death?

Even gigantic monsters hadn’t survived and had fallen.

Yet this smaller creature had withstood it?

“Rooooar!”

But there was no time to think.

The creature extended its arm again.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Just like before, thorns shot toward the group.

Damian swiftly swung his spear, deflecting all the thorns.

“Protect Lady Diel! I’ll handle this thing!”

One exchange was enough to tell.

The other two were no match for this creature.

Dianal and Kyle seemed to understand this as they quickly moved Diel further away.

Tap!

Damian rushed toward the tree-like monster.

As Damian charged, the creature extended its arm once more.

Swish! Swish!

“Not this time, you bastard.”

Damian dodged effortlessly, leaning forward and closing the gap between them quickly.

He didn’t know what this creature was.

“But I’ll figure it out after killing you.”

So.

“Just die!”

Whoosh!

Damian’s spear shot up from below.

However—

Clang!

“…?”

The spear struck something invisible, like a wall, and Damian’s expression twisted.

What kind of ability was this?

But there was no time to ponder.

Whoosh!

The creature’s long claws suddenly twisted together like a braid, transforming instantly into a long spear.

“Raaaargh!”

The creature thrust the spear-like arm toward Damian.

Seeing the attack coming at his side, Damian frowned.

With no way to predict its attacks, Damian quickly retreated to gain some distance.

He needed to assess the creature’s movements before making another attempt.

“Huff… So, it can morph its body, huh?”

This creature’s identity was becoming more and more intriguing.

Has he ever heard of something like this?

Damian lowered his stance, readying his spear.

The moment he saw an opening, he planned to dash in and sever its neck.

But then.

—…Kill…me.

“…?”

Damian flinched and looked around.

A strange voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

“No way…?”

—Please…kill me.

The tree monster in front of him started to weep.