Chapter 20
Josh (4)
“I was really shocked when you said it was an undead monster.”
“Playing innocent, but your lies are top-notch.”
When Josh teased her, Linda frowned slightly.
“I couldn’t help it. You told me to keep it a secret.”
“Anyway, I want you to remember that half of whatever comes out of that place is mine.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise.”
With eyes filled with a mix of excitement and tension, Linda recalled the story Josh had told her in the slums.
Surprisingly, it hadn’t been a person who healed Josh’s rotting foot.
What healed him was a small vial in an underground stone chamber, guarded by an undead monster he had stumbled upon in the mountains.
If they investigated that place, they might uncover the secret of the little vial that saved Josh.
“Are you sure there’s only one undead monster?”
Walking down Blacksmith Street, Linda asked. Josh, who had been a step ahead, slowed his pace.
“Absolutely. That thing was the one that wounded my foot.”
In the underground chamber, a skeleton lying on the floor had suddenly risen and attacked. While dodging, the skeleton’s claw had pierced through his leather shoe and cut his ankle.
Ironically, he was injured in that place—and healed by something from that same place.
Of course, he hadn’t expected the contents of the vial to save his dying body.
After Linda left, unable to cut off his foot due to his family’s protests, Josh accidentally shattered the vial.
A mist had risen. After inhaling it, he lost consciousness, and when he woke up, his injury was completely gone.
It was both a miracle and an opportunity.
“I was planning to save money, make a silver sword, and go back. I couldn’t search the underground chamber properly because of that undead monster. There must be more valuables down there.”
He had wanted to keep it from Linda, but her persistence finally broke him. Now, she was his partner.
“Do you think you can handle the monster alone, with just a silver sword?”
“I know my way around a blade. If I’d had a silver sword back then, that skeleton would’ve been smashed to pieces.”
Josh drew the dagger strapped to his waist, tossed it into the air like a trick, then caught it without looking. He flicked it back and forth between his hands so quickly that Linda’s eyes could hardly follow.
The afterimages made it impossible to tell whether the blade was in his right hand or left.
Clack!
When the dagger stopped right in front of her forehead, Linda flinched back a step.
“You scared me!”
“In the slums, Josh is famous for his dagger skills.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
Linda pushed his dagger-wielding hand aside and walked ahead. Josh smacked his lips a few times before putting the dagger back at his waist.
“Anyway, thanks. You’re the first person—other than family—who worried about me without caring about money.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Was it the dagger that startled you? If you’re upset, I’ll apologize.”
“I’m not upset.”
Linda pulled from her bag a piece of pork wrapped in a broad leaf. It was a gift Josh had given her earlier as thanks.
“Take this home and share it with your family.”
“I told you, it’s fine. It’s my token of gratitude.”
“You need a full stomach to take down an undead monster tomorrow. Take it.”
When she insisted, Josh reluctantly accepted the pork.
“Fine. I’ll eat it, and with that strength, I’ll destroy that skeleton with a silver sword.”
“See you tomorrow at the blacksmith’s.”
“Yeah.”
Linda disappeared into the bustling street crowd, and Josh headed toward his home in the slums.
The sun was already low, and the narrow alleyways felt dark and desolate.
Hopefully we’ll find something valuable in that chamber tomorrow.
He wanted to take his family and leave the slums. The air there, so familiar all his life, now felt unbearable.
Some are born poor, others are born lords and live in luxury.
The news he’d heard about the lord’s tax reduction didn’t bring him any joy.
If not for meeting Linda, his resentment toward the lord probably would have remained unchanged.
They’ll be happy when they see this pork, at least.
Tossing the pork wrapped in leaves into the air and catching it, he reached his old brick house. Just as he was about to knock, he noticed the door was open. He pushed it gently and stepped inside.
From within came cheerful laughter. A smile spread across his face.
They’re happy because I’ve healed.
Gratitude welled up in his heart toward the uncle’s family who had raised him.
He stopped in front of the main room, where the laughter was loudest. Just as he was about to slide the door open, voices reached his ears.
“See? I told you it’d work out. I said it was better for him to die than to cut off his foot and save him. And now he’s perfectly fine.”
“You’re right. If we’d cut off his foot, Josh would’ve just been a burden.”
“Dad, so you stopped them on purpose?”
“Of course. If his foot was gone, how would he earn money for us? A useless brat is no good to us. Remember this: Josh is like livestock. We’ve raised him since childhood for that purpose.”
“Heh, right. And he doesn’t even know—he actually respects you, calls you uncle.”
“Shh! He still thinks I’m his uncle, so watch what you say.”
Creak.
The door opened. Inside, everyone froze and fell silent.
Josh stood there, face pale as a corpse.
“Oh, you’re back.”
“You stopped them from cutting off my foot… not because you cared for me, but because you needed me to keep earning money? Is that it?”
“Y-you’ve misunderstood.”
The short-necked middle-aged man stood up quickly and approached.
“Josh, we’re family. Why would we ever think that way?”
“Don’t lie. I heard everything. To you, I was livestock? Damn it, I’ve been working since I was a kid, doing anything to bring in money. And all this time, you thought of me as an animal?”
“You brat! Stop spouting nonsense when I said it’s not true! After all I did raising you!”
The man shouted angrily, then suddenly slapped Josh across the face.
Josh’s head snapped to the side. He wiped the blood from his lip.
“You’ve got some nerve.”
“What? You little—!”
As the man raised his hand to strike again, Josh caught his arm.
“I’ve been holding back out of respect. Don’t push me.”
“Let go of me!”
“Who am I then? If you’re not really my uncle, then who am I?”
“How would I know! You were just some abandoned brat I picked up! Ungrateful beast! If not for me, you’d have starved to death!”
Josh glared at the man he’d thought was his uncle, eyes blazing, then shoved him back and stepped away.
“Honey! Are you alright?”
“Dad!”
They clung to each other. There was no room for Josh.
Silent, with tears in his eyes, Josh threw the pork onto the floor before them.
“There. Pork. Eat until your bellies burst. Don’t ever come looking for me again, you disgusting bastards.”
Force (1)
“Open your mouth wide, please.”
“Ahh.”
Returning from the town hall, Ian suddenly felt feverish and summoned Nekamo.
“Hold this in your mouth. Once you taste bitterness, spit it out.”
Nekamo placed an herb in Ian’s mouth. The young lord’s flushed complexion slowly returned to normal, and Nekamo nodded.
“It’s because of the centipede medicine you took yesterday. Nothing to worry about—it’s actually a good sign. It means the medicine is being absorbed properly.”
“Ptooey.”
Spitting out the herb, Ian rinsed his mouth with water.
“That’s a relief. I have something important to do today. Can’t afford to be sick.”
“Something important, my lord?”
“Yes. Anyway, good work. I feel reassured with you by my side.”
Rising from his chair, Ian clapped Nekamo firmly on the shoulder.
“The honor is mine, my lord. To serve you so closely.”
“If you need anything, ask. I’ll provide it.”
For a moment, Nekamo nearly asked for gold. The lord’s words were so soft and sweet.
Why is he suddenly acting so friendly? Is it because of Linda?
Linda was teaching Ian to read. Of all people, why Linda?
The lord was becoming an adult… could he be harboring feelings for her?
Of course, his daughter denied it furiously, but Nekamo couldn’t shake the thought.
If not for the difference in status, my daughter is clever and beautiful enough. To have the lord as a son-in-law—what would that feel like? But his position is still unstable…
As Nekamo drifted into his own daydreams, Ian’s sharp voice pierced his ears.
“What are you thinking?”
“Huh?”
Snapping back, Nekamo hastily gathered his medicine box.
“Forgive me, my lord. I was just thinking of what other remedies might help you.”
“A loyal subject indeed.”
“Then, I’ll take my leave, my lord.”
Flustered, Nekamo hurried out. Ian chuckled as he watched him go, then began repeatedly standing and sitting.
What are you doing?
Blanzorre, hovering in the air, asked.
“My legs feel stronger. My arms too.”
He hadn’t told Nekamo, but ever since his fever subsided, he suddenly felt brimming with energy.
Maybe eating properly these past few days helped, but more than that, the centipede medicine seemed to be transforming his body.
“It must be the centipede medicine. I only hoped it’d make me grow taller faster, but this… I didn’t expect results so soon.”
Ian leapt high on the spot, delighted.
This was not the same body that had tired after the slightest exertion just yesterday. His stamina had increased.
So when you entered Ian’s dying body, its very constitution must have been altered in some strange way, Blanzorre mused, watching with interest.
Try sensing the Force. See if you can.
“No way, really?”
Forcing himself to calm down, Ian opened the introductory breathing manual for internal energy training.
Wait—this feeling…
As he practiced the breathing method, moving his body lightly, a familiar sensation stirred. His heart raced.
Back on Earth, it had taken him two months to feel qi. His teacher, the old man who taught him, had praised that as remarkably fast.
But here, after just a few days in Ian’s body, he was already sensing it.
Because he hadn’t expected it, the joy doubled.
Now comes the hard part. Drawing the energy inward, turning it into internal strength.
After some time practicing, Ian stood upright and pressed his palms together like a monk.
A warm, tingling energy—cool like spring air yet faintly ticklish—swirled around his clasped hands, then faded.
“Ah! I was so close!”
Disappointed, Ian stopped and opened his eyes.
“I felt it—the qi, or Force. But I couldn’t make it fully mine.”
I don’t understand. You said the qi you trained in on Earth is the same as Force. Then why are you trying so hard to lock it inside your body?
Blanzorre descended from the air, standing before him.
“You could see it?” Ian asked in shock.
The spirit nodded smugly.
Nothing escapes my eyes. Answer me—why do you do it that way?
“The method I learned works like that. You hold the Force inside and use it. Isn’t that how it’s done here?”
No. Not here.
As he spoke, Blanzorre blew a great breath.
At once, the room filled with glimmering specks, like grains of sparkling sand floating in the air.
