Chapter 75

Raon woke up feeling refreshed, as if he had slept in. Under the unfamiliar ceiling, several messages had appeared.

[You have demonstrated abilities beyond your limits in an extreme battle.]

[All stats have increased by 1 point.]

[You have defeated an opponent of a higher rank.]

[The title <Unyielding One> has been granted.]

[You have successfully ambushed a stronger opponent.]

[The trait <Ambush> has been granted.]

All the messages were positive.

“Ugh….”

Raon blinked and sat up. He was inside a log cabin he had never seen before, but it seemed he was still in Sebu Village.

“What’s all this?”

He checked the messages again. They were the stats, title, and traits he had gained from the battle with the Green-Eyed Goblin.

-For such a weakling, to give such rewards….

Las clenched his teeth, clearly displeased with the idea of receiving rewards.

-He was just a stubborn fool, yet he gets stats, a title, and traits. It’s absurd.

‘It’s your ability.’

Raon raised his palm to push away Las, who was emitting cold and anger.

-Damn! I didn’t realize it when I used it, but it’s really….

Even without finishing his sentence, Raon understood what he was trying to say.

‘Definitely a cheat.’

Raon slowly nodded and brought up his status window.

<Status Window>

Name: Raon Zighardt.

Title: <Unyielding One>.

Condition: Curse of the Frost (Five Strands).

Traits: Anger, Flame Ring (4-star), Water Resistance (4-star), Snow Sense (3-star), Ten Thousand Flowers (3-star), Frost of the Frost (3-star), Fire Resistance (3-star), Bleeding Curse (1-star), Ambush (1-star).

Strength: 57

Agility: 58

Endurance: 59

Spirit: 42

Senses: 64

The first thing that caught his eye was the title. It had changed from <First Victory> to <Unyielding One>.

Even though the title had changed, the stats it provided remained. He checked the new title.

<Unyielding One>

A title given to those who possess an unyielding spirit, even when fighting against stronger opponents.

Ability: All stats increase by 3% when fighting a stronger opponent.

‘Is this real?’

Raon narrowed his eyes. A 3% increase might not seem like much, but it becomes more significant as you grow stronger.

Especially since most of the opponents he will face in the future will be stronger than him, this title would almost always be active.

‘Then next…’

He looked at the second new trait, <Ambush>.

<Ambush (1-star)>

Reduces the noise when attempting an ambush or assassination, and increases the chance of dealing critical damage to the enemy.

‘An assassination trait.’

It was a trait designed for reducing noise and increasing the chance of critical hits.

‘If I had this before…’

The Green-Eyed Goblin had already detected his presence before he swung his sword.

If he had this trait earlier, he might have been able to cut the goblin down with one strike.

‘Well, if that had happened, I wouldn’t have gained these abilities.’

After the tough battle, he had become even stronger, turning a crisis into an opportunity.

Raon checked his increased stats and closed the status window.

‘Thanks to you, I’m getting stronger every day. Thank you.’

-Grr….

Las, who couldn’t see the status window, glared with his blue eyes.

-You will never die a peaceful death. I will chew your flesh, chew it, and chew it again, making you suffer for the rest of your life.

‘Sure, if you can.’

To Raon, who had already experienced the worst death and was living a second life, Las’s anger and threats were nothing more than a laughable level.

“Ugh….”

Raon stretched and stood up. Thanks to the increased stats, the muscle pain and headache were completely gone.

Click.

When he opened the door and stepped out, the sky was as dark as when he had fainted. It seemed he had been asleep all day.

“They rebuilt it.”

The village’s wooden fence, which had been destroyed, was now even higher and stronger, thanks to the trainees working together.

“Raon?”

Turning at the surprised voice, he saw Lu Nan standing there, holding a basin, probably on her way to his room.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Raon nodded. After a good sleep, he felt completely back to normal.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Dinner. Everyone is gathered.”

She pointed behind her.

“Hmm….”

Raon rubbed his stomach. He hadn’t eaten anything in over a day, so he was quite hungry.

“Got it.”

“Okay.”

Raon followed Lu Nan to the center of the village. A large bonfire was burning in the middle, and the villagers and trainees were gathered around.

A few were missing, probably on guard duty.

“Hey, Raon!”

“Raon-sama!”

“Raon Zighardt!”

“Ah, the savior has awakened!”

“Savior!”

The trainees and villagers, who had been sitting in a circle around the bonfire, jumped up and shouted.

“Is, is your body! Is your body okay?”

“Is there anything wrong?”

“It’s a relief to see you awake!”

Buren was the first to run over, his eyes wide, followed by other trainees who checked on Raon with worried looks.

“Savior!”

“Thank you for saving our village! Savior!”

“To fight so hard for our village….”

The village chief and other villagers also rushed over, kneeling and expressing their gratitude.

“……”

Raon swallowed hard as he looked at them all.

Their eyes.

The emotions in their eyes touched him. Gratitude, thankfulness, repayment, reverence.

The trainees’ eyes showed embarrassment, gratitude, respect, desire, and admiration.

The desire in their eyes was similar to envy but entirely different.

They weren’t envious of Raon; they wanted to be like him.

They were chasing after him, aspiring to be like him, and choosing him as their role model.

“……”

Raon accepted the emotions in their eyes, feeling them deeply.

His heart raced.

An emotion he had never felt before enveloped his heart.

In his previous life as an assassin, he had never received gratitude, recognition, or admiration.

There was only life and death.

He risked his life to kill people and gather information for the Robert family, but the recognition and rewards went to people like Darius Robert, who were in the public eye.

This was the first time he had received such recognition in his life.

A different thrill ran through him, different from the sense of achievement he felt while practicing swordsmanship or aura.

He looked at everyone again.

The villagers were shouting their thanks, and the trainees were looking at him with admiring and admiring eyes.

‘Right. From now on…’

Raon clenched his fist tightly. His future life would be as a swordsman, not an assassin. He would see this kind of scene countless times.

He felt a desire growing within him.

He wanted more recognition and more admiring looks.

From now on, even more….

* * *

After finishing his meal, Raon went to find the village chief. The chief, not knowing what to do, bowed deeply.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“O-of course!”

He straightened the bent village chief and led him to a corner.

“Do you know who attacked the village?”

“Yes, I know. They are the Eden, who control the monsters.”

The chief nodded. Even in this small village, the infamy of Eden was known.

“But I don’t know why they targeted us. It’s just a small village with nothing of value….”

The chief shook his head, muttering that it was strange.

“I heard from the goblin that perhaps you found a red gem in Sebu Mountain?”

“Red gem? Yes, I have. I found it in the mountain when I was young and brought it to the village… Could it be!”

“Yes. The gem is what they were after.”

Raon’s words made the chief’s eyes widen.

“So, the chaos was because of that stone….”

“Yes.”

He nodded. He needed to be honest so the chief would willingly hand over the gem.

“I almost destroyed the village! Oh! Me!”

The chief fell to the ground, hitting the earth.

“As long as the gem is in the village, Eden’s monsters will keep coming.”

“After I buried the gem, the land became fertile, and the cold decreased, so we treated it like a guardian deity, but….”

Hearing the chief’s words, Raon became even more certain. The Goblin King was a powerful fire-element monster. The treasure he left must have warmed the village.

“So, what should we do? Should we discard the gem now….”

“I’ll take it.”

“Pardon? The savior?”

“Eden is a ruthless group trying to erase humans from the continent. If we discard it, it will likely fall into their hands. I’ll take it to Zighardt.”

“I can’t let you do that again.”

“It’s fine. It’s the path of Zighardt.”

“Ah!”

Raon recited a line Buren would say. The chief’s eyes sparkled with tears of emotion.

“Zighardt has once again bestowed upon us an unrepayable favor.”

“Again?”

“Yes. Lord Glen Zighardt, the current head of the family, saved our village several decades ago. I was a bit older than you at that time.”

The chief looked up at the sky, filled with yellow stars, as if reminiscing about the past.

“Lord?”

“Yes. He saved the entire village, smiled, and treated us kindly.”

“Hmm….”

Raon tilted his head.

‘Kindness and a smile…’

Thinking about Glen’s face now, it was hard to imagine.

“Oh, I’m an old man, telling pointless old stories. Come this way. I’ll give it to you right away.”

The chief, scratching his head in embarrassment, led the way to his house on the eastern side.

‘Even he had his moments.’

Raon followed the chief, imagining the ice-cold Glen’s smile.

* * *

The chief’s house was at the western end of the village, which was unexpected since village chiefs usually live in the center.

“This is the chief’s house. I’m sorry for the intrusion.”

“Nonsense! Not at all!”

The chief waved his hand at Raon.

“Don’t village chiefs usually live in the center?”

“I’ve always lived here, so I got attached and didn’t want to move.”

The chief scratched his cheek and headed to the yard.

“I buried it here. I thought it brought good fortune by warming the village, but it was a curse.”

He started digging in a small field in the yard. After about 30 minutes of digging, he pulled out something wrapped in black cloth.

“That cloth….”

“It’s a family heirloom. The stone emits a deep red light, so I wrapped it to hide it.”

The chief unwrapped the cloth.

Whoosh!

A stifling heat and a strong red light illuminated the dark field. It was as if a giant flame had been ignited, brightening the world.

‘This is the Goblin King’s magic stone…’

If this magic stone were to fall into Eden’s hands, a new monster with the Goblin King’s abilities would be born.

“Sir, let’s wrap that back in the cloth….”

“So, that’s why.”

Just as he was about to tell the chief to hide the gem again, a calm and deep voice came from the right.

“Huh!”

Raon stepped in front of the chief and looked up.

Would a general on the battlefield be like this?

Rough and fierce, his body was covered in scars. He was incredibly large, and it was strange to see such a big man standing on the thin wooden fence.

The most striking feature was his eyes. The pale yellow eyes exuded a madness that made his hair stand on end.

‘I didn’t even sense him?’

For someone of that size to approach without being detected, he was no ordinary expert.

“Who are you?”

“Me? I wonder….”

The middle-aged man snapped his fingers, and a green helmet appeared in front of him. It had a round head, with large tusks protruding from the top and bottom, and a single horn on the top.

An Ogre.

A helmet with the face of a monster, the king of forests and mountains, spun in the man’s hand.

“Who am I?”