The rolling orb struck my foot, and I picked it up. It was a relief that the monster's foul body fluids seemed to vanish with the light. It wasn't dirty, even when I slipped it into my pocket.
A purple orb—then the monster I encountered was the Cave Master that Charles had mentioned. No wonder it was so unusually powerful, I thought.
"Don't touch that. It's mine," Charon said in a low voice, aiming his bow at me.
Hector quickly stepped in, startled. "Wait, hold on!"
"Are you protecting your younger brother? What a disappointment, Hector. Have you forgotten we're in the middle of a trial—"
"It isn't like that. For now..." Hector looked at me, his gaze conflicted. "You... are you really Luan?"
"Yes."
"You aren't an undead?"
"Come on, give it a rest. I'm sick of that misunderstanding already," I whined, though I had only been through it once before.
"So, you've been alive all along," he murmured.
"Obviously."
"Then where the hell have you been? What happened to you?" he pressed.
I studied Hector for a moment. He was a Badniker too. Unlike the others who had come before him, I could afford to tell him the truth. Maybe I would have if Charon weren't standing there.
"Let's save that for later," I said. "First, I have something to accomplish."
"Something to accomplish?" Hector asked.
Without saying a word, I showed him the purple orb.
As expected of someone quick on the uptake, Hector's expression hardened immediately. ""You mean you won't settle for just that orb. You're planning to take the ones we have too."
I nodded."I'm in a bit of a desperate situation."
Charon openly sneered. "I don't know where you came from, but with your skills—"
"Shut up and focus, Charon," Hector cut in, his voice low. "If you let your guard down, you'll lose all your orbs. This guy is stronger than the monster we just defeated."
Charon looked unconvinced. He studied me with a calculating expression before asking, "Were you the one who injured the Cave Master?"
"That's right. Since you stole my prey, you don't have much ground to complain if I attack, right?"
Then Hector asked unexpectedly, "Even if we hand over our orbs?"
Charon whipped his head around to glare at him. "What the hell are you saying?"
I stared at Hector, a little surprised. "What?"
The Hector I remembered would never have suggested something like that. Sure, I had dealt a critical blow to the monster, but it had still managed to escape. It hadn't been a fatal injury. Hector and Charon must have struggled hard to kill it afterward.
Would they really give up their hard-won spoils so easily?
Granted, Hector does have a decent grasp of my strength.
Surrendering because he knew he'd lose in a fight—such a choice never would've crossed his mind before. In other words, Hector had learned to swallow his pride.
"Sorry," I said, grinning slyly. "I can't accept that."
If anything, Hector's unexpected reaction only deepened my curiosity. I wanted to know how he'd spent the past four weeks.
Hector sighed. "I knew it would be like this."
In the next moment, he drew his sword and parried my strike with the Seven Deadly Sins Blade.
A whistle escaped me without thinking.
The strength behind his sword was no joke. In our brief exchange, it became clear Hector's swordsmanship had improved significantly.
And that wasn't all. "Brother Hector, have you been sparring with Instructor Tanko?"
"Yes," he answered.
It was as expected. I could feel the raw, beastly ferocity in his swordplay. This savage style was something Hector had never displayed before. It made sense, considering he had received systematic lessons from swordsmen since childhood.
This is good.
His once rigid swordsmanship had gained flexibility. Eliminating weaknesses was an achievement that could only come from recognizing one's own flaws. It was a rare trait to honestly confront one's own ugliness.
In the midst of this, I dodged an arrow that zipped between us.
I looked at Charon and said, "You haven't grown at all."
He scoffed. "You dare to judge me?"
I chuckled before turning my focus back to Hector.
Hector immediately pulled his sword close, bracing for my attack. But the force of my palm wasn't aimed for destruction—it was meant to push him away. The result was that I sent him flying backward, crashing into the cave wall.
It looked like he was going to recover immediately, but I hurled the Seven Sins Sword at him before he could.
Naturally, I didn't intend to kill or seriously injure him here. The sword pierced his clothes and lodged itself into the wall, pinning him for the moment. It would take him time to break free.
In the next instant, I raced toward Charon.
Charon fired another volley of arrows.
I dodged two and caught the third with my hand.
"Try catching this too!" Charon sneered, releasing a single arrow this time.
It flew in a straight line—almost comically predictable.
What an obvious trap.
Maybe it was because he was used to fighting beasts and monsters. No matter how cunning they were, they weren't human.
Chuckling, I decided to humor him and caught the incoming arrow with my free hand.
Charon jeered, "Idiot!"
Then, I felt heat radiating from the arrow. A small explosion followed.
As the blast kicked up dust and blurred my vision, Charon's mocking voice echoed. "That's what you get for trusting an enemy's words, Luan Badniker. That arm of yours is finished—"
At that moment, I kicked through the dust and appeared right in front of him.
Charon's eyes widened as I brandished the other arrow like a dagger.
He gasped and frantically tried to dodge.
"You're awfully desperate. Did you coat the arrowheads with poison or something?" I asked.
He had no time to answer.
Meanwhile, I sensed movement behind me—Hector had broken free and was approaching.
Although he had the advantage of attacking from the rear, he hesitated, clearly aware the opening I left was a trap.
Still focused on Charon, I said, "Hey, Brother Hector."
"W-what?" Hector sounded flustered.
"It looks like you'll get beaten a little less today. Step back.
"Say what?"
His confusion was almost funny, so I repeated, "Stand back. Unless you want to get beaten."
He fell silent for a beat, then pulled out his purple orb, set it down, and muttered, "Thanks."
Charon let out a laugh of disbelief. "You bastards are of the same blood. You're—"
I slapped him across the face with the hand holding the arrow.
He stared at me, dumbfounded, as if he had never been slapped before.
Actually, maybe it was his first time.
I continued, "Since my brother is out, you'll have to take his share of the beating."
"Cut the crap—"
I slapped him.
"Who do you think I am—"
I slapped him again.
"Listen to me—!"
As the steady rhythm of slaps continued, Hector quietly said, "I'll... go check if the exit is fully blocked."
"Go ahead," I said.
"W-wait, Hector! Our temporary alliance—"
"I don't remember making any such alliance," Hector interrupted.
"You bas—"
I continue slapping Charon.
Without so much as a glance back, Hector turned and walked away, deaf to the familiar sounds echoing behind him.
***
I had finally secured all three purple orbs, but there was still work to do before I could achieve my goal. I needed to keep the other hero disciples with similar scores in check.
My current score was eighty-nine—my original fourteen points plus seventy-five from the orbs.
Though I had collected the purple orbs, the fifteen- and twenty-point orbs remained. Roughly speaking, anyone with a score between thirty and sixty could still turn the tables, depending on the orbs they picked up.
I paused, thinking it over, then came up with a pretty good idea.
"Alright, listen up, you two. From now on, the three of us are forming a temporary alliance," I declared.
Charon's lips twitched at the words "temporary alliance," but he said nothing, still smarting from the beating he had just taken. Having undergone similar treatments under my master, I easily recognized that suppressed irritation.
Hector asked, "A temporary alliance?"
"Yes. You two want to stay on top, don't you?"
"Of course," they said.
"Good. Then here's how it's going to work: from now on, I'm going to keep taking your orbs."
Their faces twisted into expressions worth framing.
"Which means you'll maintain your current scores until the trial ends," I added.
Hector frowned. "I'm not sure I follow."
"It's simple," I explained. "If you want to keep your current rankings, we have to make sure no one else gathers more orbs."
In short, my strategy was to force all hero disciples participating in this special trial to keep the scores they had at the start.
Charon muttered sourly, "This isn't an alliance. It's just us taking care of you."
"Is that really how you see it? Think about it, Charon," I said. "My score is only eighty-nine, even after collecting three purple orbs. I couldn't reach first place even if I tried."
Charon didn't argue, but he didn't look convinced either.
"My only goal is to finish in the top three. I have personal reasons. I need to complete the course. So even if Hector overtakes me, I won't complain."
Hector thought it over, then gave a slow nod. "I get it. Certainly, if we want to be in the top three with our current points, we have to take all the other orbs away."
"Exactly. Charon, you have 102 points, right? If Seren gets three indigo orbs, she'll earn sixty points, jump to 109, and push you out of first place." I continued, "So while you're at it, help keep the other hero disciples in check too."
Charon finally seemed to realize I wasn't just talking nonsense. He hesitated for a moment, weighing the idea.
Honestly, I could have beaten him into submission. But this guy had a bottom line he wouldn't cross. He wasn't the type to fold completely over a few bruises. Besides, there's a limit to how much you can bend someone by force, especially someone with his level of pride.
After some thought, Charon caved in. "If it keeps my rank safe, fine. I'll go along with it."
"Perfect. Let's work together to sweep the top three," I said, grinning as I extended my hand. "Alright, team. Let's do this!"
However, the two most stoic hero disciples in the entire training camp just stared at me, not even pretending to join in the cheer.
***
I left Charon and Hector behind and exited the cave. Sticking with them would not have been the worst idea, but for some reason, I suddenly felt the urge to be alone.
Today is Friday...
The trial ended on Monday morning, meaning I still had three days left.
Three days was a short yet long enough period, in my opinion, to be the perfect length for a break.
During my training on Spirit Mountain, my master would occasionally grant me a vacation, but even then, I would only take three days off.
My master really knew what he was doing— a proper vacation should be two nights and three days. One night and two days was too short, while three nights and four days dragged on too long.
My chatty Third Senior Brother also strongly agreed with my opinion.
Since I thought it would be rare to see the Butterfly Forest like this in the future, I decided to treat it as a good vacation.
I made a cottage on the east side of the camp for my residence and briefly escaped my usual routine, taking a nap for three or four hours.
Later that night, I couldn't sleep, so I stayed awake until the early hours of the morning.
I lay on a thick branch and counted the stars visible through the leaves. In that moment, I forgot I was in a training camp, that I had encountered a demon king in Hell, or even the mission I had been assigned. I didn't even think about circulating internal energy.
It had been a long time since I lived such a lazy life, and I was satisfied. The only disappointment was the food. When hunger struck, I caught fish from the stream and grilled them. Unfortunately, they weren't delicious.
I wanted other meats or fruits, but the monsters vanished as soon as they were killed. Even though late winter had passed and the new year had begun, the weather was still chilly, making it hard to pick berries.
Other than that, I was at great peace emotionally.
"Come to think of it, I haven't had such a peaceful time since I regressed," I muttered.
And I wasn't talking about the regression I experienced during this training camp.
After awakening as the fifteen-year-old Luan Badniker, I had barely had a moment to breathe. From the start, my tendons were nearly severed the moment I opened my eyes. Later, I was thrown into danger in the Jewel Mountains. Even after returning to the main house, one incident after another swept me along.
I was a martial artist by nature, and a fierce life suited me, but even I believed that people needed a break.
Sometimes, it was nice to be alone like this. Whenever I sensed another hero disciple nearby, I deliberately avoided them, and I didn't engage with any monster unless it invaded my territory.
This went on for a day or two.
Finally, on the morning of the last day of training, I watched the sun rise and performed the First Fire Technique for the first time in a while.
To my surprise, the internal energy in my dantian had stabilized into an ideal form.
How should I describe it? It felt as if my external and internal energies, which had been out of sync since my regression, had finally found true harmony.
At that point, I realized that even the body needed a period of adaptation. Sometimes, it was necessary to slow down and breathe.
I basked in the morning light and began circulating my internal energy. The harmony in my body, combined with the First Fire Technique, took my energy circulation to a new stage, resulting in a significant increase in my internal energy reserves.
On a whim, I tried refining the Spirit Jade once again.
As expected, the refining process went much faster. At this rate, I could completely refine it within half a year.
"I must've taken at least two steps forward today." I chuckled as I stood up, the unusually crisp air filling my lungs.
Four weeks ago, the dawn in the forest had been very chilly, but now it had warmed considerably.
Spring wasn't too far away.
Suddenly, my sharpened senses picked up a presence—subtle but impossible to ignore. Someone was swiftly and stealthily cutting through the forest toward me.
I didn't think it was an enemy, though.
Before long, a man in a neat uniform appeared in front of me. It was a familiar face.
"You are..."
"I am Jane, a collector," he said with a polite bow.
"Right."
Compared to when we last met, his attitude was far more deferential.
"Do you have business with me?" I asked.
"Young Master Luan, the Theology Master conveyed the general situation, and I heard the details during the relayed briefing. First, allow me to express my deepest respect for your accomplishments." With that, Jane bowed once more.
I could clearly sense genuine goodwill when he straightened up.
Receiving a collector's favor wasn't something to take lightly. I may be the Iron-Blooded Lord's son, but collectors, like Kayan, were hounds who could be ordered to draw their blades against even the family's direct descendants.
As expected of the Badnikers' subordinates.
It was a family that valued only skill and achievements, and their subordinates mirrored that nature.
I nodded slightly, already guessing why he was here. "No outsiders are allowed to enter during the training camp."
"Yes."
"Yet here you are, standing openly before me."
"There is only one person who can stand above the family law in the Badnikers," Jane said with a faint smile. "The family head has summoned you."