Episode 194: A Request (1)
A few days later, Damian and his family finally left the city and returned to Spring Castle.
“We’re finally back!”
“There’s no place like home.”
“Absolutely.”
As soon as they arrived, the family let out a collective sigh of relief. Seeing the famous starlight jellyfish had been a delight, but they had gotten caught up in a bizarre incident.
“We were so close to disaster…”
“Why did it have to happen while we were there?”
It had been quite an ordeal. First, there was a massive explosion outside the city, then a giant of fire appeared. Just as things seemed to calm down, the Holy Order showed up, conducting inquisitions under the guise of rooting out heresy.
The most shocking revelation for the family was the true nature of the chaos outside.
“A dark sorcerer, a master-class warrior, and even demons were battling it out…”
The entire city, including their family, had narrowly escaped being caught in the crossfire.
“At least it ended without any major harm.”
“Indeed. No one was hurt, and everyone is safe.”
“And we did enjoy the festival.”
The family exchanged smiles, relieved to be back together. Damian stood a step back, watching them with a quiet satisfaction. He shared their relief, grateful that everyone was unharmed.
Then he noticed Victor, who wore a sullen expression.
“Hey, what’s with the long face? Don’t tell me you’re unhappy to be home.”
“Of course not. I was just thinking about what happened with the Order.”
Damian sighed briefly. Victor had every right to be upset about his encounter with the Order.
The commotion had barely settled when the next day, soldiers from the Holy Order began searching the city.
“Does anyone know a man wearing this mask?”
“Has anyone heard of someone named Victor?”
The soldiers were showing people a drawing of a mask and asking about Victor.
“Wait, did you say Victor?”
The problem was that Victor had responded to the soldiers.
“My name is Victor.”
“Your name is Victor?”
“Yes, it is.”
The soldiers exchanged glances, whispering among themselves.
“He looks like a country bumpkin. There’s no way he’s the Victor we’re looking for.”
“Must be a coincidence. Victor is a common name.”
“Damn it, where on earth is the Victor known for splitting logs?”
“Wait, how do you know my nickname is Victor the Log Splitter?”
The soldiers turned their attention to Victor.
“Your nickname is Victor the Log Splitter?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Seize him.”
“W-what? Why are you doing this?”
“He’s suspicious. Let’s take him to the Inquisitor.”
At the mention of the Inquisitor, Victor’s face turned pale.
“W-wait! Master! Please, save me!”
Fortunately, Damian intervened and managed to clear things up, allowing Victor to be released.
“Greetings, Sir Damian!”
“We had no idea this man was your servant… We are deeply sorry!”
The moment they heard Damian’s name, the soldiers were taken aback.
Damian assured them it was fine and tried to leave, but things rarely go as planned.
“Please wait a moment!”
“The Holy Knights wish to express their gratitude to Sir Damian!”
“We’ll fetch them immediately!”
As soon as the soldier ran off, a group of Holy Knights, including Perpetuo, rushed over.
“Sir Damian! Thank you so much for your help!”
“Thanks to you, we were able to locate Hedoniac!”
It took Damian over half a day to finally escape the knights’ endless gratitude and praise.
“To think they mistook someone as virtuous as me for a villain…”
Victor muttered bitterly. Damian felt a pang of guilt.
“Well, at least you got out safely.”
“If it weren’t for you, Master, I would have been in serious trouble.”
Damian nodded, acknowledging the truth in Victor’s words.
“I’ll never forget the name Victor the Log Splitter!”
“Uh, right.”
Victor quietly simmered with resentment, and Damian patted his shoulder a few times.
While his family rested, Damian stepped outside. Unlike them, he couldn’t afford to relax. There was still work to be done.
He headed to the forest near Spring Castle, where he could gather his thoughts.
“The thing I feared has come to pass.”
In terms of results, the recent battle had been a success. They had defeated Hedoniac and even vanquished a demon. Yet, Damian wasn’t entirely satisfied with how things had unfolded.
“A demon… I didn’t see that coming.”
Since his return, Damian had always worried about losing his family to unforeseen events. This fear stemmed from his past life.
In his previous life, Damian had encountered Dorogo in an unexpected place, been transformed into a death knight, and ended up killing his family and destroying the world.
That’s why Damian was always preparing for every possibility. Just like in his past life, unexpected events could put his family in danger.
“I need to reach master-class as soon as possible.”
Everything that happened was because Damian wasn’t strong enough. The more he experienced, the more he felt the urgency to become stronger and more prepared.
Moreover, he couldn’t keep relying on dark magic. It was not only taxing on his body but also something he had to keep hidden from others.
“The problem is, at this rate, it’ll take months.”
The human body was remarkably honest. To train it, one had to invest time and effort. Unlike magic, shortcuts like elixirs didn’t work well.
Fortunately, thanks to the Berserk Elixir, Damian could train his body faster and stronger than others. Even so, by his calculations, it would still take several months.
“If I push the Berserk Elixir to its limits… No, that’s too risky.”
In his middle-class days, Damian had consumed elixirs to fight high-class opponents. During battles, he absorbed the elixir’s energy with the Berserk Elixir, reaching high-class levels.
In theory, he could use the same method to reach master-class. But to do so, he would need to consume legendary elixirs. Taking such elixirs in the middle of a battle? It was practically suicide.
It was a problem without an easy solution. Damian stopped pondering and began his training.
From then on, Damian dedicated himself to daily training. With the Berserk Elixir, static exercises were less effective.
So, Damian chose to summon undead for sparring.
“Alright, everyone, pick up your weapons. If you can even touch me, you win.”
Of course, the skeletons couldn’t lay a finger on Damian and were all shattered.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and restore yourselves.”
Every time the skeletons were smashed, Damian restored them. As a result, the skeletons had to endure being shattered multiple times a day.
Some skeletons suggested alternative training methods, but it was no use.
“I get to train, and you gain experience. It’s a win-win, isn’t it?”
The skeletons had it relatively easy compared to Dominico and Miya.
“Wow, it’s convenient that neither of you can die.”
With that, Damian mercilessly struck them with a wooden sword. Limbs flew off, and heads disappeared.
Since they were already dead, they didn’t feel pain. The problem was enduring this over ten times a day.
Eventually, Dominico couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up.
-Master… Could we… take a break?
“A break? An undead asking for a break? Stop whining and pick up your sword.”
Naturally, Damian wasn’t swayed.
He had his reasons. Both Dominico and Miya had exceptional potential. To fully harness that potential, Damian insisted on pushing them.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
One day, Miya protested vehemently, questioning why only she was being targeted while Munch was left alone.
“He’s growing just fine on his own.”
Though Munch usually seemed like a playful dog, he was destined to become a beast known as the Destroyer in the future.
In fact, Munch was currently the strongest among Damian’s undead. In the recent battle, Munch had dominated a mid-level spirit.
What Munch needed wasn’t experience or training. With time, he would naturally grow stronger.
“Alright, let’s start again.”
“Woof…”
As Damian was engrossed in his training, a visitor arrived at the Haxen estate.
“Sir Damian, it’s been a while.”
Liam Bluegreen. One of the only three high-class warriors in the Apple Kingdom had come to see Damian.
“Lord Bluegreen, what brings you here?”
Damian greeted him with surprise.
Though Damian’s skills surpassed his, Liam Bluegreen was a marquis of the Apple Kingdom. Moreover, he was the only high-class warrior loyal to the royal family.
For the Haxen family, he was a guest they couldn’t afford to slight.
Thus, Damian treated Liam Bluegreen with the utmost respect.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“And what might that be?”
“Well, you see…”
Liam Bluegreen hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking to Damian.
“Ever thought about visiting the Empire?”