Chapter 17
Chapter 17. The Eternal Apprentice (1)
When Anagin’s bag struck the Monster Merchant, whose body was made up of entwined snakes, blood and flesh burst apart like a red firework.
Drops of blood and chunks of flesh fell with a splatter.
The massive serpent’s head, composed of countless snakes, was half blown off and staggered.
“Oops!!”
Anagin grabbed the writhing serpent and swung himself back up.
Then he raised the bag again and slammed it down with all his strength.
Pwahak—!
A loud, meaty explosion rang out as another firework of blood and flesh erupted.
The half-destroyed head was now completely crushed, and the unsteady body reeled even harder.
“Guess separating yourself isn’t that easy, huh?”
Anagin, drenched in blood and bits of flesh, looked at the Monster Merchant.
By now, separating would’ve been the smart choice, but since he didn’t, it seemed that once merged, he couldn’t undo it.
“That’s just great.”
Anagin lifted the bag again and swung.
Pwahak—!
A burst of gore erupted as the serpent’s neck was severed, and through the exposed section, smaller snakes writhed and twisted.
But Anagin didn’t care. He kept swinging the bag, striking down on the massive serpent made of countless snakes, shaving it apart.
Pahak—!
“The City Lord was right!”
Pahak—!
“This bag’s seriously sturdy!”
Pahak—!
“Still in one piece after all this swinging!”
Pahak—!
“What’s your plan now? At this rate, you’re gonna die, you know?!”
Pahak—!
“Not that I mind—at least I get to see your ugly face!”
Wriggle!
Through the tangled cross-section of snakes, the Monster Merchant, still wearing his tattered robe, shot up.
From beneath the robe, he spat out a venomous serpent straight toward Anagin.
“Not so fast!”
Anagin brought the bag down half a beat faster than the snake could move.
Kwaaang—!!
Before the serpent even twitched, the bag hit it. Flesh burst, and blood sprayed like a crashing wave.
As the mist of blood settled, the Monster Merchant, his robe in tatters, was revealed.
Just before the blow could land, he had shielded himself with the surrounding snakes.
“Persistent bastard.”
But that didn’t mean he came out unscathed.
The heavy bag, packed full of broken stones and rock fragments, easily smashed through the fleshy wall of serpents and struck the Monster Merchant beyond it.
The proof was clear—the robe was shredded and peeled away as if its lifespan had expired, revealing the Monster Merchant’s true face underneath.
Shiiiik—
It was a snake.
That was what hid beneath the robe.
A deformed serpent, its thick, stubby body grotesquely mismatched with its massive head.
Around its body, countless smaller snakes coiled, mimicking a humanoid form.
“……”
“……”
For a moment, time froze as Anagin and the revealed Monster Merchant stared at each other.
Then.
“Pahahahahaha!”
Anagin burst out laughing.
“You’re not just ugly—you’re malformed! A crippled snake!!”
Crippled.
Even as a mere beast, the Monster Merchant’s face twisted in humiliation. In fury, he flung the snakes wrapped around his body to grab Anagin’s bag.
Since poison didn’t work, he chose to hinder his weapon instead.
It was cumbersome, but Anagin didn’t care and tried to swing again.
That was when.
The Monster Merchant coughed up something like a horn from his mouth and blew it with all his might toward Anagin.
BWAAAAANG—!!
The ear-shattering blast carried a shockwave that slammed into Anagin.
Caught off guard, his unstable footing crumbled, and he was sent flying into the air.
He had lost his grip on the Monster Merchant’s head.
Realizing the situation instantly, Anagin didn’t hesitate. He threw his Interspatial Bag and drew Bender’s blade from his waist.
Shwaaak!
The blade pulled free of its sheath in a ruined state.
Blood and fat clung to it in crusted layers; the blade was snapped—broken beyond use.
A faint relief washed over the Monster Merchant’s face, frozen from tension.
He'd convinced himself that such a ruined blade couldn't harm him.
A reasonable thought. What could someone do with a blade like that? But, betraying that expectation, Anagin said,
“What are you so relieved about?”
Still hovering in midair, Anagin grabbed the broken hilt of Bender’s blade with both hands.
Immediately, a look of unease swept across the Monster Merchant’s face.
Because even the monster’s eyes could see a faint, bright light pooling on the broken Bender blade.
"You, surely you're not going to use Yul—"
[Vertical Slash]
Anagin brought the blade down while suspended in the air.
The energy clinging to the shattered Bender blade shone so brilliantly it was blinding despite the daylight, and it sliced cleanly through the air.
Zjeojeok….
The light on the blade cut through the monster’s tough outer shell—armor that would have stopped an axe—and neatly severed its fibrous muscles and tendons; only sticky blood oozed from the gap.
Pwahak!
Sticky gore spurted like a fountain as the serpent’s body collapsed.
Blood and flesh rained outward, staining the earth red.
Splash!
Anagin landed on the ground and scanned his surroundings.
The ruined Ruin Village.
People staring at him as if their souls had been wrenched out.
Corpses scattered here and there.
The overpowering stench of everything mixed together.
The Ruin Village was, quite literally, a mess.
Anagin yanked a magic staff stuck in the ground and tossed it to the nearby ponytail man who’d already approached.
"Thanks, I used it well."
“Oh, really giving it back?”
The ponytail man seemed surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to get the staff back.
It had been a decent magic tool—useful and convenient.
Not exactly Anagin’s taste, though.
“I don’t lie. If I say I’m borrowing it, then I’m actually borrowing it.”
“No one really tells the truth all the time. People lie big and small.”
“I don’t lie. Even if I bullshit.”
Nonsense, but the ponytail man just laughed.
“Heh, you're crazier than me, huh? Say whatever crap you like… Well, winners get to talk nonsense! So, how do you feel?”
“What do you mean, how do I feel?”
Anagin asked as he rifled through the monster’s ruined corpse.
“You took on Deodia alone and beat him up, and you chopped the Monster Merchant down too. Both of them were hotshots around here.”
“Is that so?”
“Especially the Monster Merchant—he’s fairly notorious in Hellas. Your name might even make it into the ‘Talaria Weekly’.”
“Talaria… or Talurline or whatever. I didn’t actually kill that snake bastard.”
“What?”
The ponytail man sounded incredulous as he watched Anagin search the carcass.
From what they’d seen, the sword strike—charged with vast Energy and sharp skill—should’ve been impossible to dodge. At least, that’s how it looked to him.
Anagin was equally stunned.
He’d swung, intending to cleave the head in one blow, but the creature had twisted desperately and avoided a fatal hit by a hair’s breadth.
Although it didn’t entirely escape—its torso was grievously wounded—the crucial fact remained: it had not died instantly.
Not a matter of reflexes alone, but a survival instinct so fierce it bent the odds.
A beastly thing, but its will to live was strong.
Admiration aside, killing is killing—Anagin planned to swing the blade again to finish it off, but…
“I failed. He pulled out a magic tool from his mouth and vanished, like smoke.”
“‘Vanished like smoke,’ huh. A teleportation artifact for escape use. Pretty rare stuff. Guess he managed to get his hands on one somehow?”
“Can you tell where he went?”
The ponytail man shook his head.
“Only the user knows. That’s how those things work. I’d say he didn’t get too far—but not close either.”
“That’s a shame.”
Anagin genuinely sounded disappointed.
Beasts that ruin the fields only grow more cunning and vicious the longer they live—so they should be killed while you can.
The boar he’d killed before leaving his home village was a good example. The stupid beast had come back for revenge over its dead kin, hadn’t it?
Well, chasing it down and killing it wasn’t a big deal, but still…
“You’re not seriously thinking of going after him, are you?”
The ponytail man, sharp as ever, read his thoughts instantly.
“Oh, how’d you know?”
“Just a feeling. You’ve got that ‘I’m gonna do something stupid’ vibe again. But really, how are you even gonna find him?”
“The wind’s blowing that way, so I’ll just head that way.”
“You’re not a bloodhound or a ship, for that matter… Ah, forget it. Not my business. You heading out right away?”
“After I take care of what’s bugging me first.”
Anagin picked up a shovel from among the scattered wreckage and walked toward a small child sitting nearby.
The face was familiar—it was the kid who’d been calling out to travelers by the riverside.
The child sat blankly amid the devastated Ruin Village, staring up at Anagin without a word.
“Your sibling?”
Anagin looked at another child lying beside him, also one of the kids who’d been with him by the riverbank, but now dead.
Killed during the Monster Merchant’s rampage.
The boy didn’t answer.
Anagin asked again, “A friend, then?”
Still no answer.
“Whatever the case, let’s bury them. The dead deserve rest. Let them go.”
Finally, as if waking from a trance, the boy released the dead child’s hand, and Anagin began to dig with the shovel.
Thak—! Thak—! Thak—!
In the deathly quiet of the ruined village, only the sound of shoveling echoed steadily. The people nearby watched in silence.
Then Anagin spoke again.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it.”
The ones he addressed were a group of burly men armed with enormous cleavers—Monster Butchers.
They looked like they’d been through hell themselves, but compared to the others, they were in somewhat better shape.
Maybe because they were used to carving up monsters, they’d fought off the serpents well enough to protect themselves.
One man stepped forward as their representative—a short, stocky fellow Anagin recognized from the riverbank.
“Boss.”
“Phew… Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Karnos, a monster butcher. On behalf of all butchers, I extend my gratitude to you, hero. Thank you sincerely for saving us.”
“Your tone’s changed.”
“Our work’s rough, so our speech tends to be rough too. But we’re not so uncultured as to forget gratitude. Were it not for you, we’d all be snake feed. Truly, our thanks.”
The short butcher bowed deeply, and his sincerity was clear.
The others followed suit, lowering their heads to express thanks.
Given their trade, they’d managed to resist for a time—but without Anagin’s intervention, they’d have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters. Their gratitude was natural.
But Anagin knew they weren’t here just to say thanks.
“Here. Take it.”
Still digging, Anagin tossed the shovel he was using toward the short butcher.
Then he picked up a few scattered shovels nearby and tossed them to the other butchers.
“What’s this?”
“You came for the monster corpses, didn’t you? To take them or sell them?”
The short butcher flinched and stayed silent, which was answer enough.
“Then dig some graves for me. Bury the bodies. Do that, and I’ll hear you out… What do you say?”
Anagin tilted his head as he asked, and the short butcher responded by quietly starting to dig. Soon, the others joined in, the sound of shovels striking earth filling the air in rhythm.
As they worked, Anagin looked toward the ponytail man, who was watching with a grin.
“You know where Deodia’s crew has their base, don’t you?”
“Deodia’s crew?”
“Don’t play dumb. A crew that big doesn’t just scatter. They’ve each got too much loot to just disappear.”
Even the shameless ponytail man couldn’t deny that.
"Maybe... there might be a place?"
“You do know where they are, right?”
“And why would you think that?”
“A smart guy like you wouldn’t not know something like that. And by the same logic, you know I won’t believe you even if you lie. So let’s not waste time with nonsense.”
“Heh… fine. What do you want?”
“Guide me. I’ll pay you for it.”