Hello. It feels like it has been a very long time since I last posted. I cannot help but feel terribly sorry to my readers.
The truth is, there was a reason for it. It may seem small, depending on how you look at it,
but to me, something truly devastating happened.
Because of this, I lay sick with worry for three days, and only now have I finally managed to shake it off and resume the serialization.
I still cannot understand why the partition on a perfectly fine hard drive suddenly disappeared.
They replaced the hard drive with a new one, but every bit of data inside was lost. Of course,
that included a considerable amount of the Dark Mage manuscript.
When the technician told me the data could not be recovered, I was truly devastated. There was quite a lot I had not
backed up... I think those of you who write will understand how I felt.
I once heard someone say that if you rewrite something, the exact same writing will never come out again, and I
wholeheartedly agree. Then, I will begin the serialization.
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After leaving the royal castle, Damon began walking without any particular destination. Normally, he should have gone
to the castle wall where the garrison was and received a new assignment, but he did not feel like doing so now. In other
words, even if it meant defying orders, he had decided to go in search of someone else who would teach him magic.
“Since I have completely learned the language of this place anyway, it should not be difficult
to ask around for a mage.”
The place he headed for was a tavern in the city. According to what he had heard from MacMillan, there were rumors that war mages who had gone out to battle
and earned leave would sometimes come to taverns to drink.
His eyes were blazing with a certain determination.
“No matter what it takes, I will learn magic. I do not care even if I must prostrate myself and beg. No matter what obstacles
stand in my way, I will become stronger...”
Before he knew it, Damon’s mind was filled with the countless insults and contempt he had suffered
since childhood. Damon believed all of it had happened because he had no power.
During the strongest period of his life, when he had been the commander of the Guardian Demon King Army, he had never once
been treated like this. In other words, when he had power, no one had dared to treat him lightly.
But learning martial arts again was now completely out of reach.
Thus, the only method by which he could gain power was magic. At that moment, one thought suddenly flashed through Damon’s mind.
“Although I may have lost my internal energy, I still remember the formulas of the martial arts I have learned until now.
If I make use of those...”
Of course, he could not very well pass on the use of his unique weapon, the tiger claws, to the knights of this place.
In particular, short weapons like the tiger claws had their power markedly reduced
against the heavily armored knights of this land.
However, in his memory remained the formula for the internal energy cultivation method practiced by the warriors of the heretical cult:
the Asura Evil Spirit Heart Method.
It was an accelerated internal energy cultivation method that Sajun Hwan had created by mobilizing dozens of martial instructors in order to raise
the Guardian Demon King Army. Its power had already been proven through the exploits of the Guardian Demon King Army. In other words,
in terms of the speed at which it accumulated internal energy, it was a heart method that could be said to far surpass any other.
“If I teach this to them...”
He did not know for certain, but he felt he might be able to obtain another chance to learn magic. Although he did not know
what kind of internal energy cultivation method Emperor Crossen of a hundred years ago had left behind, it could never surpass the Asura Evil Spirit Heart Method.
“Judging from his behavioral patterns, he was certainly not a person of the demonic path. And the Asura Evil Spirit Heart Method
accumulates internal energy faster than any cultivation method of the orthodox sects.”
Of course, the Asura Evil Spirit Heart Method could not be called a perfect heart method. Compared to the internal energy cultivation methods of the orthodox sects, the internal energy it accumulated
was relatively impure, which meant the chances of reaching the absolute peak would likely be rather low. Warriors who trained in it had a high probability, nine times out of ten,
of running into the wall of the demonic.
But that problem, at least in this place, did not seem to matter at all. If they could reach even the level of the warriors of the Guardian Demon King Army,
they would easily be called first-rate here...
However, there was an obstacle. As Damon recalled the surrounding circumstances, he clenched his teeth hard enough to crush them.
“If I do that, I will have to bow my head to that hateful bastard Sergei. That is absolutely
out of the question.”
Damon already harbored deep antipathy toward Sergei. True to his inborn nature, he never
betrayed anyone who had shown him kindness. By the same token, he also never forgot a grudge,
no matter what. Because of that, he had to be swept into serious anguish over the matter of transmitting the internal energy method.
But his decision was made before long.
“For now, I will leave the Asura Evil Spirit Heart Method as my final hidden card. Bowing my head to Sergei
is something I will only consider if nothing works after I have tried everything.”
Having made up his mind, Damon walked into the city streets. Because he was deep in thought,
he did not notice the passersby glancing at him and pointing fingers.
After walking for quite a while and arriving at a tavern in the city of Feldrian, Damon opened the door without hesitation
and stepped inside.
Clatter.
Inside the tavern, quite a few people were drinking amid a loud buzz of conversation. Damon swiftly
looked around the interior. Most of the people inside were soldiers wearing armor. In other
words, not a single person who looked like a mage could be seen. But Damon was not
disappointed.
“There are many taverns. If I search through all of them, I will surely find one.”
For the purpose of wetting his throat first, Damon approached the bar. Since his emotions had been running high,
he desperately wanted a drink. Because of his hideous appearance, everyone’s gazes focused on him at once,
but he simply pretended not to see. When he took a silver coin from his breast and placed it on
the counter, the bartender glanced at him.
“A glass of brandy.”
Though he frowned slightly, the bartender took out a bottle without another word and poured the liquor. Damon, receiving the glass,
drank the strong brandy down in one gulp. A burning sensation slid straight down
his esophagus.
“Not bad.”
He stood there for a moment, savoring the taste of the liquor. Though its taste and fragrance were completely different from the liquor of the Central Plains,
it was still quite drinkable. At that moment, a rough voice suddenly came from beside him.
“He really ruins the taste of the booze. Hey, bartender. Money’s all well and good, but should you really be accepting
a guy like that?”
Damon simply pretended not to hear. He had already come to taverns three or four times with MacMillan and his other comrades
from the guard unit, and he knew very well that in places like this,
there were often men who got drunk and picked unreasonable fights. The one who bristled at those words was actually
the bartender.
“Hey, Stanley. If you’re drunk, go back to the barracks quietly. Don’t go picking a fight with a customer for no reason...”
“A customer? Kuhahaha. Even a passing dog would laugh at that. A guardsman with that face? Let’s
see what he’s capable of.”
He sensed someone rising to his feet.
‘This isn’t good.’
Sensing that the situation would not flow smoothly, Damon finally raised his head.
Though he was not wearing armor, what he had on was none other than the uniform of a royal guardsman.
Of course, Damon was already well aware that, because they received special treatment, the royal guardsmen were extremely resented
by ordinary soldiers. If so, it was obvious that they would try to start a fight by finding any fault they could.
Thud.
After setting down his glass, Damon slowly turned around. There, a burly soldier
was swaying drunkenly as he glared at him. At the table where he had been sitting,
other soldiers dressed the same way were seated and watching them. Seeing hostility
in their eyes as well, it seemed there was no way this would pass quietly.
“This works out well. I needed someone to vent my anger on anyway.”
Damon calmly took a deep breath and settled his mind. Though he had lost his martial arts, his powerful
body techniques still remained in his body. The weapon he had used in the Central Plains was the extremely short, one-handed weapon called the tiger claws.
In order to compensate for the shortcomings of those tiger claws and maximize their power, he had already
mastered several types of fist techniques and kicking techniques. Though he had no internal energy, dealing with three or four mere soldiers
was nothing difficult.
The only problem was the Sevenfold Severing Art. If, by any chance, he formed killing intent, the Sevenfold Severing Art
would activate at once, and in an instant he would be unable to move even a finger.
For now, maintaining his mental composure was the most important thing. In other words, if he wished not to form killing intent,
he had to attack mechanically, solely in a state of no thought and no self.
Of course, under no circumstances could he kill his opponent. Thinking only of giving him a thorough lesson,
Damon prepared himself fully and then stared at the soldier’s face.
“Do you have business with me?”
The soldier who had picked the fight looked surprised.
“Well now, you speak our language pretty well.”
“If you want to fight, come at me. If not, I am leaving as I am.”
“I like your honesty. Fine. Even if you are an outsider, it doesn’t matter. Since you’re wearing the uniform of the royal guard,
there’s no way you can leave this place in one piece.”
A murderous look slowly surfaced on the growling soldier’s face.
Crack, crack, crack.
Continuously cracking his knuckles, the massive soldier approached and stood before Damon,
looking down at his face. The soldier was so tall that Damon’s face barely reached his chest.
But Damon only maintained his expressionless face as before.
The soldiers inside the tavern were watching the confrontation between the two with interest. The soldier, still cracking his knuckles,
suddenly twisted his body and threw a punch toward Damon’s face.
“Hah!”
A terrifying sound cut through the air. Judging by the situation, Damon’s face looked as if it would be turned into a bloody mess
with a single blow. He truly seemed to be a powerful soldier. However, no matter how tremendous one’s strength was,
it was of no use if it did not hit. Damon slightly turned his head to let the fist pass by,
then lightly slipped into the giant’s chest and struck his abdomen.
Thud.
The soldier struck in the abdomen was thrown into panic. Damon had not hit him all that hard,
but the place where his fist had landed was one of the important acupoints of the human body, so naturally
the pain was severe.
“Guh!”
With an impact that seemed to knock the breath out of him, the soldier’s body abruptly pitched forward, and Damon grabbed the soldier’s
knee, then ruthlessly threw him backward. It was an attack that properly used his momentum.
The massive soldier spun once through the air, then crashed away while smashing a table to pieces.
Crash!
The sight of him lying spread-eagled and not moving at all made it clear he had been knocked unconscious with a single blow. At that sight,
the soldiers’ mouths fell open. To subdue that huge body with a single blow...
But taking down the giant did not mean the situation was over. The soldiers sitting at the table
had all risen to their feet at the sight. Each and every one of them was streaming hostility.
“You hurt Stanley. We can’t forgive that.”
Roughly three or four soldiers approached with fists clenched. But Damon merely stared blankly
at the fallen giant. No expression surfaced on his face. He was struggling only
to maintain a state of no thought and no self.
A four-against-one confrontation. Of course, if measured by pure strength, it was certain he would not be their match. No,
in terms of physical strength, Damon could not surpass even a single one of the soldiers. The people of Truvenia
were far larger in build than those of the Central Plains, and their strength was also superior. In many ways,
it could only be an unfavorable fight. But he had a secret weapon capable of resolving the situation.
It was the fact that Damon perfectly understood the acupoints of the human body.
The human body had roughly 365 known acupoints alone. Some acupoints caused loss of consciousness,
while others made it impossible to move the body. There were even acupoints that caused instant death
with just a touch. By using this, Damon could make extremely efficient attacks.
Watching the soldiers rushing at him, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Thud, thud, thud.
“Ugh. Ack. Kugh!”
Looking around at the soldiers who had sprawled out spread-eagled from a single blow each, Damon dusted off his hands.
Because he had no internal energy, he could not seal acupoints, but making them faint was entirely possible.
By landing exactly one punch each on the areas where important acupoints were located, the situation was settled.
“G-Good heavens...”
At the unexpected turn of events, the mouths of the people inside the tavern fell open. An outsider whose build was not even that large
had knocked out four sturdy soldiers, and with a single blow each at that...
Under the gazes of people who could not believe what they had seen, Damon silently took off his upper garment. It was the uniform
of the royal guard, with its crest clearly stamped upon it. After rolling up the uniform he had taken off and casually throwing it
into a corner of the tavern, Damon looked at the people and grinned.
“I’m not a royal guardsman anymore. I was dismissed as of today.”
Although a brawl had broken out, no particular commotion arose. Because of the war, such brawls were always
happening. Since there did not seem to be anyone among them who looked like a mage, Damon judged that there was no longer any need
to remain here, and with only a thin shirt on, he turned away without regret.
After he left the tavern, the people finally began to murmur.
“How could he knock down those huge men with a single blow each?”
“Who knows? Contrary to how he looks, he must be incredibly strong.”
While the people stood in a circle around them and watched, the unconscious soldiers began to rise one by one.