Episode 406
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
With an intimidating presence, Nigel slowly approached.
Zeke steadied his breathing, trying to maintain his composure as he spoke to her.
“Wise Nigel of the Forest, I come at the behest of the Highlander chief.”
At Zeke’s words, Nigel paused, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized him.
“Has that old fool lost his mind? Why send a human here?”
Swallowing nervously, Zeke replied, “My name is Zeke Draker. I am a Black Knight and a Guardian Knight of the Draker family. The chief proposed an alliance to stop the Abyssal forces from invading the continent, and I accepted.”
Hearing his name, Nigel’s expression soured.
“So, you’re the one who stole the Hydra kill.”
Nigel had harbored resentment ever since Zeke had taken down the Hydra in the Barbarian territory. But her grievances about the Hydra were a separate issue for now. She eyed Zeke with suspicion.
“Ha! You claim to want to stop the Abyss, yet you parade around with two Arch Liches? And you expect me to believe you?”
Unfortunately, Nigel had caught sight of him with his summoned Liches, complicating matters.
‘How can I convince this stubborn and eccentric master?’
Convincing a skeptical Nigel was no small feat. She raised her sword and slowly advanced toward Zeke.
“Why aren’t you speaking? You’re looking more suspicious by the second. Maybe I should start by cutting off a limb or two and then—”
“W-wait, Master!”
Startled, Zeke blurted out the word “Master” without thinking.
Nigel looked at him with disbelief.
“Have you lost your mind? Who’s your master?”
As the situation worsened, Zeke decided he had no choice but to tell Nigel the truth.
“Master, it might be hard to believe, but I’ve actually traveled back in time…”
Swoosh!
Nigel swung her sword before he could finish.
“Ugh!”
Zeke barely dodged the strike, retreating and drawing Bahamut.
He shouted at Nigel, “It’s true, Master! Please, hear me out!”
“Living long enough, I suppose even lunatics like you wander into the forest. I was in a foul mood anyway, so I’ll beat the truth out of you.”
Knowing his master was more than capable of doing just that, Zeke quickly summoned all his strength.
Rumble!
The power of his awakened form enveloped Zeke.
Nigel’s expression shifted subtly as she observed him.
“Huh? The more I see, the less I understand. Where did you learn that?”
“I learned it from you, Master. In the timeline before I returned.”
Zeke activated his double spell, channeling his energy into his sword.
Vroom!
He swung the blade, imbued with the will to shatter, toward Nigel.
Crash!
Despite the powerful strike, Nigel barely moved, casually deflecting it with a flick of her sword.
Snap!
The shattering will in Zeke’s sword dissipated, leaving it a mere ordinary strike.
‘What?’
In his confusion, the sword reached Nigel, who caught it barehanded.
Holding the blade, she looked at Zeke and said, “Swinging something like this around and calling it an awakened form? Foolish.”
With that, Nigel’s sword flashed.
The light enveloped Zeke, and his consciousness faded.
“Gasp!”
Zeke awoke with a start, sitting up.
He looked around, recognizing the familiar surroundings.
It was the wooden house he and his master had stayed in while in the Forest of the Forgotten.
Seeing the house again sent a shiver down his spine.
‘Wait, was all of that just a dream? Did I pass out after being hit by Master and dream it all up as an escape?’
Panicked, Zeke checked his Draker uniform and the status window floating before him, confirming that his life until now hadn’t been a dream.
He sighed in relief just as the door opened and Nigel entered.
Seeing her, Zeke couldn’t help but flinch with fear.
Nigel brought over a chair, crossing her legs as she looked down at him.
In her shorts and boots, she appeared like an innocent girl, but in reality, she was more terrifying than anyone.
Nigel spoke, “Repeat what you said earlier.”
“Uh, what?”
Nigel frowned at his response.
“About time and returning, or whatever it was!”
Zeke’s body trembled instinctively at his master’s raised voice.
‘I’ve been hit so much in my past life that my body reacts on its own.’
This was why he had dreaded returning to the Forest of the Forgotten, but now that he was here, there was no choice.
Zeke slowly began, “As I said, I traveled back in time. With the power of an Elder Dragon.”
Nigel’s eyes widened at the mention of an Elder Dragon.
“Are you insane… Is that really possible?”
“Do you believe me?”
Nigel frowned, scrutinizing him.
“Ha, it sounds absurd, but there’s no other way to explain how a human could open the middle dantian and know the awakened form.”
“In my previous life, you saved me and opened my middle dantian, Master.”
Nigel shook her head.
“I must have been out of my mind to teach a human the awakened form. What on earth…”
Nigel stepped off the chair and approached Zeke.
He looked up at her, his face pale.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Take it off.”
“What?”
Nigel scowled, pointing at his uniform top.
To avoid provoking her, Zeke hurriedly removed his top, revealing his well-toned muscles.
Nigel examined the area around his middle dantian closely.
“Hmm…”
Uncertain, she placed her hand on his solar plexus, channeling mana into him.
Vroom!
A sigil appeared above Zeke’s solar plexus.
One of them had formed after he absorbed Bahamut’s heart.
Nigel’s expression turned incredulous at the sight.
“What is this? A dragon’s heart is embedded in your middle dantian?”
Not just possessing a dragon’s heart, but it was fused with his middle dantian.
She quickly analyzed the sigil, her eyes widening in shock as she looked at Zeke.
“Ruler of the Sunset, Bahamut… Did you absorb Bahamut’s heart?”
Zeke nodded.
“Yes, I initially absorbed a cursed heart of a dragon, but with the help of Lord Hyperion of the Silver Clan, I broke the curse.”
Nigel’s expression grew more bewildered.
“Not human, not dragon. What are you?”
Muttering to herself, Nigel manipulated her mana, merging the sigils into a spherical shape.
She examined the sphere closely, her eyes stopping at one point, shaking with disbelief.
“This is insane… There’s a mark of the Highlander pact I made with you?”
In his past life, Zeke had broken the pact with Nigel to join Alisia in Himonas, so he was understandably tense.
As Zeke waited, swallowing nervously, Nigel scrutinized the pact mark, her expression turning incredulous.
“What? Is this… even possible?”
She glared at Zeke, her voice fierce.
“What did you do to make me release the pact?”
Zeke’s eyes widened in shock, shaking his head.
“What? You released my pact, Master? I had no idea.”
Nigel erupted in frustration.
“Making a pact with a human was infuriating enough, but why would I release it? This is infuriating! Did I really do this?”
Zeke realized something he hadn’t known before.
‘Did Master release the pact on me without my knowledge in my past life?’
His master was arrogant, eccentric, and had a terrible temper.
According to the pact, Zeke was supposed to succeed Nigel as the caretaker of the Forest of the Forgotten and fulfill the Highlander’s duties.
But Zeke had abandoned the pact to help Alisia and left the forest, never to return.
He had always feared his master’s reaction upon their reunion, but he also felt guilty for betraying the one who had saved his life and shown him kindness.
The mark of the Highlander pact etched on his soul had always been a burden on his heart.
But hearing that the pact had already been released left Zeke stunned.
“Did the pact dissolve when I traveled back in time?”
Nigel looked at him with disdain.
“You fool. Did you really think I couldn’t figure that out? I released it before, despite the massive backlash it would cause. Honestly, I can’t fathom why I did such a thing.”
Zeke never imagined that his master from a past life would have set him free.
“Why would Master do that?”
There was no way for Zeke to return to his past life and ask his master what had happened, so he remained in the dark about the details.
He gathered his clothes and looked at Nigel. “Anyway, can you believe me now?”
Nigel’s expression was a mix of emotions. She sat back down, deep in thought, before turning to Zeke.
“Come here.”
Zeke quickly moved to the spot Nigel indicated. She furrowed her brow and bit her nails, a habit that made Zeke chuckle inwardly.
“Some things never change.”
Nigel then asked, “How far did I teach you the Soul Technique?”
Caught off guard, Zeke paused to collect his thoughts before answering. “I only learned the basics. I had just opened my middle energy center, and you said learning more would be too much for a human body to handle.”
“Hmm, then how did you manage to pull off a Double Spell?”
“I watched you do it and tried to mimic it. Triple Spell was beyond me, though.”
Nigel looked at him incredulously. “What? You just watched and copied a Double Spell? That’s insane.”
Muttering to herself, Nigel stood up. “Follow me.”
Zeke was annoyed by her usual high-handedness but followed her outside without protest.
The clearing around the wooden house was where Zeke had trained relentlessly, often beaten to the brink of death. According to Nigel’s philosophy, you learn by getting hit, and somehow, he had survived to open his middle energy center.
Standing there again after so long brought back memories. “I really did get beaten up a lot.”
Nigel drew her sword and said, “Grab your sword and use a Solo Spell.”
“What intent should I summon?”
“Anything. Just do it.”
Grumbling internally at Nigel’s brusque reply, Zeke picked up Bahamut. He summoned his energy and raised the intent of strength.
Nigel sighed. “Where do I even start with this mess?”
“I did it just like I was taught.”
Nigel shook her head. “You call that doing it right? You’re doing it all wrong.”
“But Master taught me this way in my past life…”
“If I say it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Do you want to get beaten until you admit it?”
“No, ma’am.”
Even as a Black Knight, he was still ignored and scolded, just like in his past life.
Nigel looked at him, sword in hand. “Watch closely. You’re completely misunderstanding the Soul Technique.”
With that, a surge of strength emanated from Nigel.
Zeke felt as if Nigel had turned into steel. “What is this?”
Though they both summoned the intent of strength, the feeling was entirely different from what he had done.
Nigel explained, “It’s not about forcing the intent. You must become one with it, embody it. That’s the essence of the Soul Technique, you blockhead.”
The word “blockhead” triggered a flash of memories from Zeke’s past.