🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 12
Clatter.
Noah gripped the reins of the horse and brought the carriage to a complete stop. At that, Dobermann, the leader of the bandits who had been told to stop by Noah, showed a leering smile.
“Can’t believe there’s still such a foolish one left.”
Dobermann scanned Noah sitting in the carriage from head to toe. By all appearances, he was just an ordinary boy.
“Get out of the carriage.”
Dobermann relaxed his guard completely. It was the dead of night, and more than 20 bandits were with him. Moreover, Noah looked like an ordinary civilian.
It was a situation where Dobermann couldn’t help but let his guard down. Noah had counted on that and had hidden the full force of his presence.
Thud.
Noah stepped down from the carriage, hood pulled over his head, and looked around at the bandits.
‘These guys are just as weak as I thought.’
The bandits’ equipment was simple: crude armor made from steel plates and dull blades. Still, it was sufficient to rob merchants in this remote kingdom.
“This is your chance. Drop your weapons and surrender… and I’ll let you die without pain.”
Noah said this directly to Dobermann. But Dobermann didn’t even bother to listen. Instead, he sneered at the glimpse of Noah’s face under the hood and made a lewd remark.
“For a boy, you’re quite handsome… perfect for a night of entertainment!”
“You won’t have him all to yourself, chief.”
“Let us taste him too!”
Noah frowned at the crude remarks of the low-ranking bandits.
“Tch.”
He clicked his tongue in disbelief and drew a sword from the sheath at his right hip. He didn’t even wear proper armor, but one sword was more than enough for him.
Of course.
“One sword alone, and you dare face us?”
“This guy’s completely crazy.”
The bandits didn’t feel any particular threat from Noah. From his appearance, he looked like the delicate young master of a noble family.
“Subdue him carefully; don’t damage the merchandise!”
Dobermann, standing in front of Noah, crossed his arms. The other bandits nodded vigorously and approached Noah with large steps.
“Stay still, and your body will remain intact.”
At that moment, Noah didn’t move. He simply breathed in and out, watching the bandits.
“Heh… completely frozen!”
“Stay quiet. Then your limbs will remain unharmed.”
The bandits assumed Noah was terrified.
“Tie him up.”
“Yes!”
A swift bandit brought a rope to bind Noah. But just as he tried to capture him with it—
Thunk!
“Huh?”
Noah swung his sword. In an instant, the bandit’s arm was severed. He hadn’t even used his Aura Heart—this was just a physical attack.
“Argh!”
The bandit rolled on the ground, screaming, but his cries didn’t last long.
Thunk!
Noah cut his neck.
Tap.
Noah nudged the severed head with his foot, and it rolled to a stop at Dobermann’s feet.
“…”
Dobermann frowned at the scene. The smile was gone from his face.
“Cut off their limbs.”
Dobermann glared at Noah as he spoke, and the other bandits nodded.
“I’ll make you regret resisting!”
Two bandits, one on each side of Noah, charged simultaneously, thinking his arms would be gone in a second.
But—
Thwack! Thwack!
“Huh?”
It was their necks that flew this time.
“…Kill them!”
Only after two bandits were dead did the others feel the danger. They gave up on capturing Noah and decided to kill him instead.
They charged at Noah together.
“Pathetic.”
Noah spoke with disdain and cut the necks of the bandits charging him—
Slash!
All of them were cleaved in two.
Stomp… Stomp…
Noah eliminated both the bandits who charged him and those fleeing from him.
However, he didn’t touch Dobermann, the leader of the bandit group.
“He… h-heek!”
Dobermann couldn’t even think about running. Noah’s overwhelming speed and power were in a completely different league from ordinary people without Aura.
Drip, drip.
Dobermann’s legs had long since given out. He tried to put distance by leaning back on his hands, but it was useless.
Thwack!
“Argh!”
Noah severed the right cruciate ligament of the retreating Dobermann. Blood gushed like a fountain, but Noah didn’t care.
“Lead me to the warehouse.”
“Guh… guhh…”
“Want your head gone??”
“I’ll lead you!”
Dobermann, tears streaming from pain, scrambled to his feet at Noah’s words and moved toward the warehouse using his left leg.
‘What kind of monster is this…!’
Dobermann felt overwhelming fear. His mind was paralyzed, unable to think clearly—like imagining himself dying the moment the warehouse door opened.
Creeeak!
The warehouse wasn’t far from where Noah was.
“Did they make the warehouse underground?”
“Yes…”
Noah understood why he couldn’t see any building that looked like a warehouse. The warehouse wasn’t above ground; the bandits had cleverly built it underground.
“Y… you’re going to spare me?”
“No.”
Dobermann asked, trembling all over. Unfortunately for him, Noah had no intention of sparing him. That would have been the dumbest move.
“What the—”
Thunk!
At Noah’s next strike, Dobermann opened his mouth again, but he couldn’t finish the sentence. Noah’s sword shattered his skull.
…Stomp, stomp.
Noah left the fallen Dobermann behind and descended the stairs leading underground.
“…Is this all there is?”
But he was soon disappointed. The space was large, but the contents were lacking. The bandits had already squandered all the valuables in the warehouse on entertainment.
‘Better grab whatever’s left.’
Noah began searching diligently. He noticed a hidden space beyond one of the walls.
Vwoooosh!
He channeled Aura from his heart into his sword, then used the aura-infused blade to split the wall.
Bang!
A loud crash echoed through the warehouse, raising a cloud of dust, but Noah entered without concern.
“Lucky.”
There, he found a jewelry box that Dobermann had collected personally. Noah stuffed it into a leather pouch and exited the warehouse.
Then—
Whoosh!
He tossed the corpses of the dead bandits into the warehouse and set it on fire, destroying it completely.
The next morning.
Noah didn’t head to the training grounds as usual. Instead, he went to the chaotic kingdom—without a single escort.
‘Technically, they aren’t strong enough to protect me anyway.’
Baron Beratan knew Noah was an Aura Knight. So he didn’t try to stop Noah from venturing alone.
‘Money isn’t an issue.’
The Patris Kingdom, where Noah belonged, was in turmoil. The king had collapsed, and the princes were fighting to take the throne.
Yet, surprisingly, the kingdom seemed relatively peaceful. The princes’ conflict hadn’t escalated widely.
‘I don’t know why…’
Noah couldn’t grasp the full situation, but he could tell the atmosphere wasn’t bad.
“Where’s the forge?”
Noah had a single reason for being there: to replace the knights’ equipment using the jewels he had acquired from defeating the bandits.
“The forge?”
“Yes.”
Noah asked a man sitting near a fountain for directions. The man looked at him curiously.
“The forge is down the alley to the right… but why do you need it?”
“I want to make a sword. Thank you for telling me.”
Noah answered succinctly and turned toward the forge.
“Hmm…”
The man, Alberto, the commander of the kingdom’s knights, watched Noah with a strange expression.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of a blacksmith hammering echoed through the streets. Noah looked around.
‘It’s a small kingdom… I didn’t expect much.’
Honestly, it was far worse than expected. Even a small kingdom should have had a proper forge, but it didn’t.
‘Too small.’
There were only 10 forges. Though slightly larger than typical forges in other kingdoms, their number and scale were about one-fifth that of a major kingdom.
‘The Empire’s forges would shock anyone.’
The Empire had countless forges—at least fifty per alley. But the Patris Kingdom only had ten.
“Haah…”
Noah sighed, but tried to stay positive.
‘Still, this is something. Ten forges in such a backwater kingdom is something.’
“Looking for something in particular?”
A voice came from the forge on the far right. Noah turned his head. A muscular blacksmith stood holding a hammer.
“Swords and armor.”
“Take a look then.”
The blacksmith smiled and gestured to the items on display.
Noah examined them carefully, tapping them with his right hand.
‘Not good.’
He could feel air passing through the armor—a sign of poor craftsmanship. A skilled blacksmith could make armor impervious even to air. Noah had seen it firsthand.
“Can I try holding a sword?”
“Of course.”
The blacksmith had no idea what Noah was capable of, assuming him just another noble child.
Whoosh.
Noah picked up the sword at the front and took a stance.
Swish!
He swung it, and the sound of wind splitting in two filled the air.
“Huh…?”
The blacksmith’s face stiffened. Even a novice could tell Noah’s swordsmanship was exceptional.
“Not good enough.”
Noah said coldly, returning the sword to the display.
“You should practice more. With this skill, you can’t call yourself a blacksmith.”
“Ah… understood.”
It was a harsh comment for a young boy to hear, but the blacksmith didn’t argue—he knew better than to challenge Noah.
‘What kind of person is this?’
Noah moved further down the alley to check the remaining forges. The blacksmith watched Noah’s retreating figure blankly.
“Tch.”
Five minutes passed.
After checking the nine other forges, all were inadequate.
‘Should I head to another kingdom?’
Noah considered getting a horse and moving to a neighboring kingdom.
Bang!
A hammer struck from the forge in the left corner—the last one Noah hadn’t checked.
‘Who’s in there… hmm?’
Noah looked toward the last forge, without expectation.
When he saw the blacksmith hammering, his eyes widened.
The blacksmith was—
‘A half-blood dwarf… Kartars!’
A legendary blacksmith. A dwarf-blooded artisan, Kartars.
