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Episode 6. Thirst (1)
The opponent chosen to test Yuri was a soldier from the Black Sword Corps.
The look in his eyes wasn’t much different from that of the others.
Why in the world did the Indomitable Sword recommend someone like him?
Until now, all the applicants he’d fought in tests had been geniuses or prodigies.
But look at the kid standing before him now.
Has he even held a sword before?
His judgment of Yuri was harsh: this was someone who hadn’t even mastered the basics—a piece of trash.
But those thoughts were completely wiped away the moment a sudden black shape surged upward before his eyes.
Or more accurately, he couldn’t think at all.
What… is that?
A black figure flared up like smoke or flame.
It had crescent-shaped hollow eyes and a huge mouth torn into a wicked grin.
The soldier, who had never encountered the exalted state known as “Incarnation” before, couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing.
A… monster?
That was all he could call it: a monster.
And the instant his gaze met the monster’s hollow eyes, a wave of horrifying murderous intent crashed over him.
— Die! Die! Die…!
The monster’s bloodlust turned into language and stabbed straight into his brain, bringing unbearable pain.
But that was only the beginning.
The murderous intent grew thicker and thicker.
— Die! Die! Die! DIE!
“…?!”
Even if he was just a low-ranking member of the Black Sword Corps, he had undergone hellish training.
He had crossed death’s door many times and believed himself mentally strong enough to shrug off murderous intent.
But this was different.
This wasn’t something he could endure with willpower.
— DIE! DIEEEEE!
The relentless killing intent scraped at his very soul.
Tremble—
His body began shaking like a leaf, ignoring his will.
Chatter chatter—
His teeth clattered violently.
Faced with overwhelming terror, his body froze and his mind went blank.
Only one thought filled his head:
I’m going to die… I’m going to die… I’M GOING TO DIE!
Clatter—
The sword slipped from his lifeless hand and clattered to the floor.
And then the black monster’s mouth stretched wide open.
Keh keh keh keh—!
It opened its jaws as if to laugh, swelling monstrously as it lunged toward him.
“Wh–what?!”
“Kyaaaah!”
The black monster loomed, its presence ferocious, and the terrified soldier beneath it looked utterly helpless.
Everyone thought the creature would devour him alive.
But then—
Whoosh—
A soft breeze blew from somewhere.
Then came a sudden, powerful gust.
Fwoooosh!
“Uwah?!”
“Wh-what’s happening?!”
The wind whipped through the crowd, tossing their hair, and some turned their heads against the pressure.
Those who didn’t look away witnessed something astonishing:
A pure white wind wrapped itself around the black monster.
Swaaaah—
— Grrrr!
The black creature struggled against the binding wind.
The white wind ensnared it, while the monster thrashed to break free.
It looked like a white serpent was constricting a black beast.
The fierce battle between black and white ended abruptly.
BANG!
Unable to withstand the crushing pressure of the white wind, the black monster burst apart.
It dissolved into smoke and scattered into the air.
While the audience was still frozen in shock, the soldier collapsed unconscious, freed from death’s grip.
Thud—
And standing before him was Johan.
No one had seen when or how he’d moved there.
He appeared suddenly, almost like magic out of legend.
People didn’t understand what had just happened, but instinctively they knew one thing:
It was Johan Redner who had summoned the white wind and saved the soldier.
“The master drove the monster away!”
“He saved the Black Sword soldier!”
From the moment Yuri had stepped into the test to the soldier’s collapse, not much time had passed.
But the series of shocking events left the onlookers speechless.
In the suffocating silence, Yuri’s knees buckled.
He pitched forward—
Thump—
Just before he hit the ground, he jammed his sword into the earth, barely supporting himself.
He looked toward Johan with a faint grin.
“Isn’t it… cheating… for an old man to step in like that?”
His voice was strained but everyone heard it.
Johan chuckled.
“Well, I couldn’t just stand by and let a corpse pile up, could I? You said it was my responsibility.”
“Yeah, fair enough… So… what’s the result?”
“They’ll tell you,” Johan said, jerking his chin toward the stunned Black Sword soldiers.
All eyes turned toward the evaluators. Curiosity burned in their gazes—what decision would they make?
After a pause, the leader of the 8th Squad spoke:
“Standard… cannot evaluate.”
Cannot evaluate.
An unusually vague verdict for a test examiner.
But anyone who had just witnessed “that” couldn’t object.
The squad leader then declared Yuri’s grade:
“Special, Unranked.”
The other evaluators followed suit.
“Standard cannot evaluate, Special Unranked.”
“Standard cannot evaluate, Special Unranked.”
“Standard cannot evaluate, Special Unranked.”
All except the unconscious soldier gave the same verdict.
Even if he’d been awake, his answer would’ve been no different.
The squad leader summarized their judgment:
“Overall grade: Special. Pass.”
He pulled out a dragon badge from his uniform—the same kind Johan had tossed before the test.
His eyes held a trace of emotion.
I never thought I’d be the one to hand this out…
The Black Sword Corps had many types of dragon badges.
He’d handed out countless over the years, but this was the first time he’d pulled out the Black Dragon Badge.
Wasn’t the last one issued two years ago?
Out of the many who passed through the Dragon’s Cradle, only nine had ever received the Black Dragon Badge.
And now, just two years later, a tenth had emerged.
Tenth Black Dragon Badge holder…
Not all masters were Black Dragon Badge holders, but nearly everyone who received it eventually became a master.
Only two recent recipients hadn’t yet—but even they were expected to reach mastery soon.
The badge was a symbol guaranteeing a future master.
The squad leader extended the badge formally.
“Congratulations on becoming a Black Dragon Badge holder.”
Yuri accepted it without emotion—then immediately hurled it toward Johan.
Thunk—
It landed near Johan’s prosthetic leg.
Everyone watching widened their eyes in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Yuri asked casually,
“…Old man, they said I passed, right?”
“I heard.”
“So that means I pass by your standards too?”
“I suppose so.”
“Then it’s your turn to keep your promise. If everything you said to me was a lie…”
Cough—
Mid-sentence, blood gushed from Yuri’s mouth.
He wiped his lips and glared at Johan with fierce eyes.
“You’d better… be ready.”
He had just threatened a master.
Then the strength that had been holding him together finally gave out, and darkness swallowed his vision.
His body collapsed limply to the ground.
Thud—
The crowd remained speechless, stunned by everything they’d just seen.
Only Johan smiled and muttered,
“Feisty little brat.”
His gaze at the unconscious Yuri was filled with amusement.
Ugh…
Yuri slowly regained consciousness.
The first sense to return was hearing.
Crackle… crackle…
The sound of burning firewood.
Then the smell of roasting meat tickled his nose.
The familiar scent jolted his eyes open.
…Where am I?
He blinked rapidly, clearing his blurry vision.
Through the reddish glow of a campfire, he saw a familiar ceiling.
My… cave?
He was in the hideout he’d lived in for the past six months—a cave carved into the cliffs on the outskirts of Irons territory.
A place ordinary people could neither easily find nor safely enter.
And no one was supposed to know about it.
How did I… get here?
He had no memory of walking back.
As he stared blankly at the ceiling, memories of the test and Johan resurfaced.
He sat bolt upright.
Cough!
The sudden movement triggered a fit of coughing.
As he clutched his chest, a familiar voice spoke:
“Kids are resilient. If it were me, I’d be bedridden for nine days.”
Cough!
He coughed again, then assessed his condition.
For how much I pushed myself, this isn’t bad. Actually… it’s weirdly good.
He couldn’t remember the last time his body felt this fine.
He turned his head.
Crackle crackle…
By the fire sat the uninvited guest.
Yuri glared at him.
“How did you find this place, old man?”
“I followed you here, obviously.”
“Since when?”
“Since you were beating up those punks in the alley.”
That meant he’d been tailing Yuri since the fight with Dutz’s gang the previous night.
Yuri gave him a look of disbelief, but Johan remained completely nonchalant.
“What were you thinking, making your home in a deathtrap like this?”
“I didn’t want to get mixed up with old geezers like you.”
“Brat, don’t get snippy. I carried your unconscious body all the way here.”
“…”
Yuri shut his mouth. Johan gestured toward the fire.
“If you’re awake, come eat.”
He held out roasted meat—probably rabbit.
Yuri, starving, jumped up and snatched it, devouring it greedily. Johan started on his portion too.
The only sounds were crackling fire and tearing meat echoing in the cave.
Yuri finished his portion quickly, wiped the grease from his lips, and asked,
“Old man, don’t we have some business to settle?”
His calm eyes glimmered sharply.
