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Chapter 07
“Bang!”
I struck Czare on the crown of his head with my fist. He let out a groaning sound.
“You’re being disrespectful to your teacher. And I don’t even know my own bloodline either.”
“Even Master doesn’t know his mother and fat— Ow!”
“Say ‘mother and father’ properly.”
Only after I hit him once more did he finally quiet down. Czare looked at me with teary eyes.
“Yes, fine. So what exactly is weak? I can’t really sense your vitality right now, Master.”
Vitality is a measure of strength. As one trains the body and magical energy, the “qi” flowing in one’s blood changes.
When that energy becomes dense enough, it seeps into the bones through the veins, leaving a mark.
A state carved into the bones.
That realm engraved into the bones is called “Geok” (刻).
As in the saying “bones carved and unforgettable”—once reached, it never disappears.
“Before you died… how far had you reached?”
“Seventh mark.”
And now I had regressed to the First Mark. Czare looked at me with a faintly pitying gaze—like one would look at an elderly mother who had grown weak with age.
He was likely around the Third Mark, so I must have looked weak to him. I waved my hand.
“That sort of thing is not my weakness. It’s something that can be fixed with training.”
“Then what exactly is your weakness?”
“Not being able to kill more than three people a day.”
That was a vow I had made long ago. Czare frowned.
“That’s way too fatal a weakness. Why can’t you kill more than three?”
“I made a contract with a god.”
At the word “god,” Czare looked discouraged, though he seemed to accept it anyway. He scratched the back of his head.
“Oh, so that’s why. So that’s why the other masters always finished things off for you.”
The ones who knew my weakness were the companions of Valanus. With their help, I was still able to hold a sword.
I had kept it a secret from my disciples. They were beloved students, but not people I could fully entrust my back to.
Or so I thought—until now.
Watching the grown Czare, I felt like perhaps I could.
As I looked at him, he began questioning me again.
“What did you get in return for the contract? Which god did you make a deal with?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Wow, so mysterious. What happens if you break the vow?”
“I will never be able to wield a sword again.”
I didn’t want to lie to my disciple, but I also couldn’t bring myself to say I would die.
Even saying I couldn’t hold a sword made him look so gloomy.
Czare seemed to think for a moment, then looked at me seriously.
“Master, I have another question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Then… does that mean you can’t even kill a mosquito?”
What kind of question was that?
Still, he seemed genuinely trying to assess my condition, so I answered honestly.
“It depends. More precisely, it forbids ‘killing with intent.’”
If I accidentally stepped on an insect, that might be fine. Hearing this, Czare grinned.
“Got it! Then call me if there are cockroaches! I’ll take care of them!”
Appreciated, but calling me a master who can’t even handle cockroaches… I might as well just sleep in the gaps between them.
After that brief rest, we mounted our horses again. Before long, a small town came into view.
Czare rubbed the back of his neck.
“Haa… We should’ve just left Jania at Aspenhel. The orphanage there is still standing.”
“Why couldn’t you leave her there?”
“There was no space. The city was overflowing with orphans after the invasion.”
Fifteen years ago, the collapse of Aspenhel where we had lived was still vivid in my memory.
Flames burning through the city, scorching air, the smell of blood, screams that tore through the ears, streets filled with corpses…
Even now, I wondered who had committed such a horrific act.
“Master, that’s where the orphanage used to be.”
We had arrived without noticing. Where he pointed stood a large signboard.
“Pawn shop and loan business?”
It had a proper sign, but it was clearly a front for loan sharks.
I asked Czare,
“How did the orphanage end up like this?”
“The orphanage director lost all the money gambling. He handed over the building and still couldn’t repay the debt, so he ran away overnight.”
Pathetic. So he abandoned the children and fled too.
Czare sighed.
“So there are no staff or orphans left… we don’t even know who to ask.”
“Let’s go into the loan shop. The owner might know something.”
“The owner? I asked before, but he said he didn’t know anything about the orphanage director.”
Even after hearing that, I walked toward the building.
Czare followed and asked,
“A loan shark wouldn’t just give up on a debtor who ran away. They would have tracked him.”
Anyone with money involved would chase them to the ends of the earth.
Having even taken over the orphanage building, there was no way they would have let it go.
Czare looked at me in admiration.
“Wow, Master. Were you a loan shark? You know a lot about this.”
“I caught a few of them in my younger days. Let’s go.”
We entered the building.
A gloomy atmosphere immediately hit us.
The worn-out interior was poorly cleaned, the air itself felt murky.
From deeper inside came cries of people begging to repay their debts.
And more than anything, the employees on the first floor looked suspicious.
Their rough demeanor and threatening appearances—more like thugs than staff.
One of them approached us. He was huge, with sharp eyes.
“A customer? And a very young one at that.”
His mocking tone and dismissive gaze made it clear—we were not in a position of power.
“Let’s go inside and talk. How much money you need…”
His words stopped abruptly.
His face, which had been confident moments ago, turned deathly pale.
His mouth hung open so wide I could see a missing front tooth.
He was staring at Czare.
“H-Human Terminator Czare?!”
Do they know each other?
Czare frowned.
“You still use that nickname? Who are you?”
“Four years ago… we fought in a fighting pit…”
A fighting pit. An illegal arena.
So Czare had been involved in that kind of thing?
Another employee began trembling as well—he was missing two front teeth.
“The guy who destroyed opponents in the arena? Broke limbs, took teeth as trophies?!”
“I DID NOT TAKE TEETH, YOU IDIOT! THEY JUST FELL OUT!”
“M-mine… you took mine…”
“They were gold teeth! I kept them!”
No wonder they were missing teeth.
The employees’ attitude completely changed.
“So… what can we help you with?”
Czare turned to me.
“Master, what are we doing?”
I spoke to the man now nervously watching us.
“I would like to meet the boss.”
“W-We are very sorry, but the boss doesn’t come out unless he personally knows the guest…”
Judging from his attitude, that seemed true.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke again.
“Then I will just borrow money today.”
“Yes! This way, please! We will bring the 담당 clerk immediately!”
We were led inside to a shabby consultation room.
Sitting on a stiff sofa, I asked Czare,
“Did you really go to fighting pits?”
“Yeah… I mean, it was pretty profitable. The big shots spent a lot of money there.”
He grinned proudly.
Still, no matter how many times I saw it, it was hard to match him with the child he once was.
I asked something I had long been curious about.
“Why didn’t you stay at the orphanage?”
“There was only one spot. I had to leave baby Jania there. What else could I do?”
He fiddled with his necklace and tucked it inside his shirt.
“You could’ve done something other than being a mercenary. Something more fitting for your personality.”
“Being a mercenary lets me travel everywhere. I’m looking for my missing siblings. Haven’t found a trace.”
Czare had been the second oldest of my disciples.
So he had been searching for his family for fifteen years alone.
I felt both proud and sorry.
I tapped his head.
“What was that for?”
“A sign of your hardship. You were such a timid kid back then.”
“You really changed. Cowardly kids become easy prey. I had to toughen up.”
So that was why he spoke roughly and fought more violently than necessary.
Czare smiled casually.
“I have no regrets. So stop looking so gloomy. You got younger—don’t wrinkle your face.”
He tapped my forehead playfully.
He really had grown up.
He knew how to comfort his master now.
“Fine. I might as well take care of myself now that I’ve become young again.”
“Lucky you. But seriously… why did you come back to life, Master? I’m curious.”
As we talked, employees entered the room.
The man who had been terrified of Czare earlier, and another well-dressed man in his late twenties.
“I hear you want to borrow money. How much?”
Even when we asked to meet the boss, they had refused.
Then we would simply bring the boss out another way.
“10 billion Baht.”
At those words, both the employees and Czare froze in shock.
Ten billion Baht. Enough to buy a mansion.
There was no choice now—the boss would have to appear.
The employee cleared his throat.
“To borrow that amount, you need a guarantor or collateral.”
So this is the stage where they verify identity.
I could lie, but there was a more certain method.
I placed my hand on Czare’s shoulder.
“I will put Human Terminator Czare forward as the guarantor.”
“Pardon?”
Czare blinked at me.
…Sorry, Czare.
Just this once, be my guarantor.
