Chapter 20: Blind Trust (2)

Outside the Dmitri Castle.

Kevin was born there.

He lived in a dilapidated shack that could hardly be called a home, and even as a child, he helped his parents with their livelihood, doing everything from simple errands to tasks he had never done before.

Life as a pauper was like that, and as a boy, he never dared to dream of achieving great things.

He just wanted to live like everyone else.

Not the life of a hero from a fairy tale, but a life where he didn’t have to worry about the next meal.

That’s why.

Shiver, shiver, shiver.

“Huff, huff.”

His hands were trembling.

Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, and his vision blurred with dizziness as he looked at his arm.

His arm.

Should he cut it off?

Roman didn’t force him to make a choice.

The option of following Hans seemed to align with his dreams, but Kevin couldn’t shake off the day he first met Roman.

Roman was strong.

He was a man who could take responsibility for his words, and he effortlessly eliminated the Blood Gang, an entity that Kevin could never have dared to approach.

He was impressive.

The power to be strong.

Having lived a life where being taken from was the norm, Kevin couldn’t turn away from this moment.

‘Young Master Roman promised me a new life. So, I must become someone he needs.’

He gritted his teeth.

And then.

Crack!

“Gah!”

He chopped off his arm.

The sensation of the sharp sword piercing his flesh made his mind, which he thought was accustomed to pain, feel as if it would fly away.

The problem was that he hadn’t completely cut off his arm yet.

The sword Roman threw was blunt, and as a young boy with weak strength, he needed to saw through the solid bone dozens of times.

Grinding, grinding.

A dull sound was heard.

The sound of forcibly cutting through bone, which was enough to make anyone shudder just by hearing it.

Kevin’s face turned as red as if it were about to burst, and he couldn’t even recognize what he was doing.

He just acted.

Roman said.

He could become strong.

In a situation where he was experiencing his first ‘dream,’ Kevin suppressed the pain again and again.

And finally.

Thud.

He cut off his arm.

His body was completely drained of strength, and Kevin couldn’t keep his balance, collapsing into a pool of blood.

At that moment.

Everything disappeared like a mirage.

The blood on the floor.

The arm rolling on top of it.

And the pain that was tearing through his mind.

Though he didn’t know how it happened, he was certain that he had passed the third choice.

“You will live as a sword to replace me from now on.”

The world changed.

Kevin, still dazed, got up and prostrated himself before Roman, saying,

“I will follow your orders, my lord.”

Roman.

Following him was the only direction for his future life.

After parting with Kevin.

Hans ran out, making a fuss at the sight of Roman returning to the room.

“Sir! Are you hurt? There’s blood on the sword!”

“It’s nothing.”

“But...”

“Hans.”

Hans, who was worried and examining Roman’s body, slowly withdrew his hands at the firm voice.

Roman was a strong man.

After eliminating the Blood Gang, Roman didn’t even blink, so Hans realized he had made a fuss over nothing.

And there were no visible wounds. That meant the blood on Roman’s sword was someone else’s.

Chuckle.

‘What a stubborn kid.’

Roman smiled.

The matter with Kevin.

Roman never intended to really cut off Kevin’s arm.

He wanted to test his will with a temporary illusion, but Kevin chopped off his arm before he even fell into the illusion.

The result was the blood on the sword.

Fortunately, the sword didn’t completely pierce the flesh by a hair’s breadth, but if the illusionary magic had been a bit weaker, Kevin’s arm would have been completely severed.

He was a tough one.

Not a typical genius, but his will was so strong that it was hard to find a match.

And.

Seeing Kevin swear his loyalty, Roman said in a matter-of-fact tone,

“The mana cultivation technique I will teach you in the future is a very dangerous power. When your achievement is low, the pain is not severe, but as you become stronger, you will have to endure the pain you just experienced. The reason I’m teaching you this method is simple. It’s a way for a mid-teen boy who doesn’t even know the basics of mana to quickly become strong. If you master this technique, you will have the power to protect those around you.”

Ghostly Demon Technique.

Since it couldn’t be perfectly explained by the world’s standards, it was packaged as a mana cultivation technique.

At those words.

Kevin was moved.

In this world, a mana cultivation technique is not something a lowly commoner can access.

Though the risk is great, the fact that Roman was teaching him the technique directly made Kevin doubt reality.

Roman was a good person.

He saved Kevin from being beaten, eliminated the Blood Gang, and offered a future that Kevin had never imagined as a mere commoner.

Why.

Why did he trust him?

Even if Kevin might run away after learning the technique, Roman’s blind trust was incomprehensible.

So, he asked.

“Why do you trust me?”

Roman smiled.

Kevin’s words.

They were like those of a mad demon.

Once, the mad demon was also an ordinary boy, and he was never given the opportunity to learn ancient martial arts.

He, too, learned the Ghostly Demon Technique through Roman.

At first, Roman’s consideration didn’t seem serious, but after conquering the martial world, the mad demon asked about the reason for blind trust.

The answer was simple.

‘To receive blind trust, I must first trust the other. Even if I am betrayed.’

Trust.

It is blind.

There is no reason; it is given because it is trusted.

But Roman didn’t explain this to Kevin in detail.

Blind trust loses its value the moment it is adorned with flowery words.

And Roman had never worried about betrayal in his life.

The more his followers became stronger, the more their heads grew.

They would realize how dangerous it was to betray Tianma Bai Zhongxue.

Therefore.

He ended the conversation with just that.

And now, Roman stared at the sword.

He saw the mad demon in the blood-stained sword, and from now on, he would be connected to Kevin, a boy who resembled the mad demon.

“I will be busy from now on.”

Two weeks until the party.

About six months until the war.

From now on, there was a lot to teach Kevin.

* * *

Time is relative.

While Kevin began a fierce life, Chris spent days so boring that he wondered if it was even acceptable.

“I’m bored.”

He yawned for the umpteenth time.

Chris watched Roman and Kevin from a distance.

“Everything starts with the basics.”

“Do even one thing correctly.”

“Don’t lose your focus.”

It was truly a sight to behold.

He knew what they were doing, but he couldn’t understand it.

‘Why is he picking up some strange kid and teaching him swordsmanship?’

If Kevin were a great genius, he might have understood.

But Kevin was neither a great genius nor someone of such high status that he deserved to be taught.

Just a commoner.

And ignorant of swordsmanship.

He sighed.

When he decided to follow Roman, he never imagined such a scenario.

‘I thought I would learn the secret to becoming strong quickly by following Young Master Roman. But what is this? He has never taught me anything, treating me as if I don’t even exist. If this is the case, it would be more beneficial to practice my sword skills more often by my former master’s side.’

His heart boiled.

When the gentle breeze pierced his teeth, he wanted to run to Roman and yell at him.

But he held back.

Because he had decided to follow.

He thought that if he endured and waited, Roman would eventually pay attention to him.

However.

“Damn it, fuck.”

Thud!

He threw his glove on the ground.

It had been a week.

Unable to suppress his anger at being ignored while Roman only taught Kevin, Chris approached Roman and said,

“Young Master Roman.”

“...?”

“I have been following Young Master Roman for over a week. I spent one week in seclusion, and the remaining week watching Kevin’s training. If you’re upset because I was disrespectful at first, I sincerely apologize. Please, teach me something, just like you’re teaching Kevin. I promise to learn with all my heart, no matter what it is.”

His will was strong.

Seeing Chris express his determination, Roman turned his gaze from Kevin to Chris.

“Didn’t I tell you to learn by observing me?”

“...You mean you really meant to learn by ‘observing’? Not by teaching me something special?”

Chris was shocked.

What did he mean by that?

He thought that learning by observation meant receiving some form of teaching, but he couldn’t accept this reality.

“Young Master! Even though I was defeated in the sparring match, I am a person who has reached the 2-star level at the age of twenty-five. I cannot let my talent, which the world calls genius, go to waste.”

His resistance was intense.

Seeing Chris raise his voice, determined not to back down, Roman suppressed a smile.

As expected.

He never thought Chris would endure being ignored indefinitely.

Roman said,

“Everyone has their own way. Kevin is ignorant, so he needs someone to guide him from the beginning to reach a certain level. But you are different. Even if I teach you something, you won’t truly understand it because I am the one who defeated you. You will force yourself to accept it, and your talent will have the opposite effect.”

“...So, you mean I should keep observing?”

“No.”

Roman waited.

For Chris to resist.

Now was the time to show the reality to those who had decided to follow him.

“To accept reality, a clear result is needed. How about a proxy sparring match with Kevin? If you still think you’re right after the match, I will teach you directly from then on.”

Roman’s proposal.

It was beyond common sense.

Proxy sparring match.

An unfamiliar term.

Chris’s doubts were quickly resolved by Roman’s explanation.