The wall had collapsed with a loud crash. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it alerted every creature in the forest. I have to be more careful.
"My axes are shattered."
I looked at the remains of my weapons on the ground, destroyed by my own strength. I did not expect such a great increase in strength, nor did I expect anything at all. But this is more than I ever expected.
I took a bag out of my pocket and put the broken axes inside.
"The repairs will be expensive..."
Usually, someone would replace the weapons with new, high-quality ones, but these were a gift from the guild when I completed my first year with them. It was also difficult to obtain the materials, or order them, since most of the high-quality ones had been reserved by other kingdoms for future projects. Even an average weapon had gone up in price.
As I was thinking about what to do, the contents of the book came to mind. The so-called "Blood Manipulation" could help me fix them, at least for a short time.
Without wasting any time, I tried to use the skill. I had to let my blood flow out of my body and manipulate it to make it solid or liquid.
Since I had this ability, it would be best to take advantage of it, right? I thought it would be easy, but it was much worse than I expected.
Due to my inexperience, I let out more blood than necessary and ended up having trouble breathing. When I managed to get enough out, the next problem came. Although I had a visual image of how I wanted it to look, the blood remained in a small floating sphere in front of me.
After a few minutes, I was able to mold it to the remains of the wood and fill in the missing parts. This was very tiring, as it was like trying to knit; I had to join each part without solidifying it too much or making it too liquid. It took me about 30 minutes to form the handles of each axe before I was satisfied with the shape.
When I held it, I felt a strange familiar sensation. I suppose it was because of my own blood, but that didn't make it any less strange. I made several cuts in the air before falling to the ground with a thud.
"I'm... very... tired."
Although I did my best not to use too much blood, the amount was so great that it affected me. I ended up returning the blood I used to form the handles of my axe back to my body. I let out a tired sigh before standing up.
"As far as I know, there is no sect or guild that has this ability. I will stick to my original plan and hide this for as long as possible."
With the main part decided, I left the cave with everything I had brought inside. During the journey, my body had begun to lose energy, until I struggled to keep my eyes from closing. Once inside the city, I headed to the inn, entered my room, threw myself on the bed, and fell asleep instantly.
<<>>
"...What time is it?"
I asked myself before getting up and approaching the window. For some reason, I felt like I had slept longer than usual. When I looked out the window, I found that the sun was halfway through its journey.
"Damn, I overslept!"
I quickly grabbed my things and ran to the hospital where I had left Hwa-rak and his group the night before.
"Hello, how are my friends?"
I asked the girl from before, now wearing long pigtails.
"Oh, you're the one from yesterday. Your friends are fine. We had to do several things to the girl's arm. The main veins and nerves had been cleanly severed, which accelerated her healing. We had to carefully break those veins, which made her struggle a lot."
"I bet."Without a doubt, I have to avoid
coming to these places. Each and every one of us adventurers usually avoids these places of care. This one was exceptional, and there were usually very kind people there. But the healing methods were often painful or disgusting, from breaking and rejoining certain affected parts of your body to forcing you to drink disgustingly bad remedies.
Each guild usually has a group of people dedicated to healing or treating the ailments of guild members. They were not comparable in quality, but they were much better than suffering in these places.
I went to the room where Hwa-rak and the three brothers were, along with the receptionist. Upon entering, I saw them in a deplorable state, emaciated and with a lost look in their eyes.
"Is it normal to see them like this?"
I asked the girl who was following me.
"Their brains were exposed to a great strain. It was difficult to heal them. The spell they were exposed to was powerful and can have lasting effects... They also got scared when they saw how much they had to pay."
That explains a lot about their expressions. The only way to remove a high-level spell is with another high-level spell, and paying those healers is expensive.
"Hey, are you guys ready to go?"
I asked them, waiting for their response.
"Yes, let's go..."
said Hwa-rak, standing up at the same time as the brothers.
"How's your arm? Can you move it?"
"Yes, it doesn't hurt at all to move it."
To answer, he began to move it, clenching his fist hard enough to hear his muscles tense.
"I hope to see you again,"
said the pink-haired woman, smiling terrifyingly at the four of them.
"I wish we wouldn't,"
said Muk-hyeok, giving the woman an uncomfortable smile.
Once we were outside, I looked at them over my shoulder.
"We have to go back to the guild. I'm sure Hyeol knows you're missing."
"That's true... it's going to be a pain to get scolded by him,"
said Hwa-rak, letting out a sigh of annoyance.
"If he finds out that we messed with an S-rank creature without preparation, he'll revoke our license."
At Rak-woo's words, the three shuddered in sheer horror.
The worst thing that can happen to an Adventurer is to have their license revoked, which means losing their only source of income. In addition, regaining it involves much more demanding tests than the first time, which few pass.
Since I had the rest of my things with me, we decided to return to the guild directly. On the way, I turned to them and asked them the question that intrigued me the most.
"Why didn't the spirits kill you?"
Hwa-rak was the one who answered, with an uncomfortable expression.
"During the week we were with him, he said he was looking for 'Someone ideal,' whatever that means. He made us fight him several times, as well as forcing us to try to escape."
I see... So I wasn't the only one. Why didn't I go through that? Bah, it doesn't matter, it's better that I didn't.
"It's not unusual for certain deceased people to want a student or apprentice. That's how the current king of the demon realm was formed, right?"
We all nodded as we listened to Rak-woo. It is common knowledge that Malorn, the king of the demon realm, learned from several spirits. It is often said that they were either members of his family or wandering spirits. No matter how it happened, he is proof of these events.
"Hey Conan, what did you do with the scarecrow?"
I was hoping they wouldn't ask that. Luckily, I had already thought of something.
"I found some gems, I sold them all."
The group of four nodded before looking away. They quickly forgot about the subject, as it's not uncommon for adventurers to sell everything they get. This can be both good and bad. There have been cases where some members sold things needed for important purposes or sold jewelry belonging to families of moderate status.
<<>>
After walking for two hours, we reached the entrance to the city. It would have taken longer, but we decided to go through the forest instead of going around it, as the road indicated.
"I want to get there and rest, my brain feels like it's throbbing,"
said Hwa-rak, holding his head. The three brothers joined in.
"I think I'm losing sight in one eye."
"I can't feel my fingers."
"And I can't hear well in one ear."
It was to be expected; the girl with pink hair had already said there would be consequences. Still, I hope they're not too serious.
After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the guild, where Hwa-rak's group had to sell the things they had obtained.
Their main plan was to go into the ruins under the forest, but encountering the scarecrow ruined their plans.
On the other hand, I don't want to run into Hyeol, at least not now. She is usually sensitive to other people, which helps her identify when something is wrong.
"Hey, I'm going to go do other things, finish up what you're doing."
I didn't wait for the others' response and left the guild. As I left, I saw Hyeol and Anna's group in the distance on their way to the guild. I acted as best I could and took another route, getting away from the place as quickly as possible.
"All right, now that I'm alone, should I keep trying this?"
I extracted a small amount of blood from my body, making it float in my palm. I know a cave far from here, it's also far from the forest so I'll have fewer things to distract me.
I decided to do that, but not before buying something to eat. Come to think of it, I haven't eaten in two days. Does the cultivation of the Demon Sect also take away things like hunger?