Asher and I took Van out of the prison and brought him straight to the potion shop.
I moved with my [Super Sensory] to the maximum in case the Tyrant sent someone to monitor me, but no one followed me. It was a useless worry.
“Thank you, Mr. Pleon! Thank you so much!”
“It’s all thanks to this friend here. What are you thanking me for?”
So arriving at the shop, he thanked me and Gulpiro repeatedly.
It surprised me at first that Van called him ‘Pleon’ until I remembered that that was his current pseudonym.
“Are you going to leave right now?”
Gulpiro answered my question by looking around the inside of the store.
“Could you give me a few days? Most of them will be thrown away, but I still have a lot to organize.”
Well, that was true.
It would take some time to organize and pack all his luggage.
Staying in the Tyrant’s city was no good, but it probably wouldn’t matter for a few more days.
“Anyway, thank you so much for saving Van. I will consider this a debt and keep it in my heart.”
Gulpiro said with a soft smile.
Saving Van was a condition for him to follow me to my territory, so there’s no such thing as a debt.
But he seemed to think that it was a debt that he should pay back later. It was a good thing for me, anyway.
“Just in case, I’ll keep my escort here until you’re ready.”
I looked at Asher and said.
The Tyrant didn’t seem interested in what I was doing in Mahea, but there was nothing wrong with being careful until we left.
But Gulpiro firmly shook his head.
“It’s okay if you don’t. I have enough strength to protect myself.”
[Lv. 56]
I looked over his head.
Of course, the level of Gulpiro was considerable.
Although he was an alchemist far from combat, he was not an ordinary alchemist as he had a continental reputation.
I know that the level of his magic was also quite high, so there was no danger at all, but…
“Okay. How long will it take for you to organize everything?”
“A week is enough.”
“Then, we’ll come back then.”
After talking a little more with Gulpiro, we left the store.
I told Asher.
“Keep watching the shop from a distance. If you see anything suspicious, report it immediately.”
Asher glanced around the store and nodded.
“Yes, I understand.”
There’s nothing wrong with having this kind of safety device in place just in case.
So, I left Asher behind and I went back to the inn.
As I was passing through the alleyway, a woman with a familiar face was walking by from the other side.
“...”
I paused for a moment and turned my head.
I stared at her back as she entered the potion shop I just came out of, and then immediately turned around again.
***
“I’m sorry, but we have received no information yet.”
The man wearing a black robe said in a calm voice.
Reef, who was sitting on the other side, just stared at him without saying a word.
“There’s really nothing! It’s light blood disease. Do you think it’s so easy to find a survivor of that?”
“...”
“We’re doing our best, but it’s something that needs a little more time. If you still want to cancel the request, there’s not much we can do…”
Biting her lower lip, she pulled out a purse from her arms and held it out.
The man smiled and took the money bag.
“I will try to expand the search area by mobilizing more manpower. Next time you come, I will prepare good news.”
Watching her get up from her seat and go out in a hurry, a subordinate, who was standing behind the man, asked quietly.
“Are you really going to increase the number of people investigating?”
“Are you crazy? We will not waste scarce manpower on such a useless thing.”
The man shook his head and leaned back on the chair.
“A survivor of light blood disease, there is no way to find it. Even if there is one, there is no way to know a cure.”
“But it’s already been half a year, isn’t it? At this point, the request can be canceled, but it’s tenacious.”
“She must have all known that deep inside. It’s all useless, anyway. She’s just doing this because she can’t put away her hope.”
The man burst out in laughter.
“Well, it’s okay if we just keep pretending in moderation and accept the request money.”
Reef came out of the information guild building and walked down the street.
Ignoring the surrounding glances, the next destination was the potion shop.
As she opened the door and entered, Gulpiro, who was smoking at the checkout counter, looked at her.
“Are you here?”
As if familiar, he pulled out a red potion bottle from the drawer.
Reef, who had a potion, took out a few silver coins and put them on the table. And without a word of conversation, she walked towards the door.
Gulpiro took the pipe he was biting from his mouth and said.
“I’m leaving Mahea soon. Maybe in a week.”
“...?!”
At that, she hurriedly turned around.
“Don’t worry. I have left the recipe for the potion to Marik at the Blue Dew Shop. Now you can get it from there.”
“Why are you leaving suddenly?”
“It’s just happened.”
She stood still for a moment, then walked out of the store.
“Tsk.”
Gulpiro, who clicked his tongue slightly, put the cigarette in his mouth again. Looking at the closed door with sad eyes.
Pak.
A stone flew into Reef’s head as she was walking down the street.
She stopped walking and turned her head.
A middle-aged man was staring at this side with his red and angry eyes.
“You fucking monster bastard! You killed my son! Do you remember who he is!”
People around them hurriedly stopped the middle-aged man.
Reef expressionlessly brushed the dirt off her head and started walking again.
Pedestrians flocked to the commotion. Some were looking at her as if she was an enemy. She heard whispers from all sides.
“Tough bitch, how long will she survive after killing so many…”
Slave Gladiator of Actipol.
To keep surviving that death game, you have to keep on killing.
It also meant that more and more people wanted her to die.
There were many slave gladiators who had blood in this city like her.
Reef bit her lower lip.
She pulled the potion she was holding in her hand and held it tight, and continued walking.
Upon returning home, a woman came out the front door and greeted her.
“Oh, are you here?”
The woman was the caregiver of her brother.
The house had a guard and a caregiver.
Gladiators of the third order or higher could spend their daily lives freely in the city except during games and had a lot of money in their hands. Not to mention Reef, the top gladiator in the fifth order.
“He just finished eating.”
“How is he today?”
“Well, he coughed up blood several times a few hours ago, but now he’s stable again, so don’t worry.”
At her words, Reef nodded with a firm face and went upstairs to the room.
She opened the door and saw a boy sitting on the bed.
A boy with gray hair just like her.
He was looking at the window and beamed when he saw Reef who came into the room.
“Welcome home, Sister.”
Reef smiled faintly and approached the chair and sat down.
“How do you feel?”
“It’s okay. Didn’t I tell you? I seem to get better day by day.”
For a while, an awkward conversation ensued. It was mainly the boy talking and Reef listening.
The two siblings didn’t even talk about the gladiator fight, as if they had made a promise.
The boy who received the potion given by Reef took a sip and made a weeping noise.
“I drink it all the time, but it tastes terrible. Can’t you just ask the maker to make it more delicious?”
“Don’t say nonsense and drink it all right away.”
The boy frowned dissatisfied, but continued to drink the potion.
The boy’s arms were exposed through the rolled-up sleeves.
Bare, pale, and abnormally bulging dark red veins.
Reef’s eyes, looking at it, subsided.
“...By the way, Sister.”
The boy who drank all the potions hesitated and opened his mouth.
Reef picked up the empty bottle and stood up straight away. Because she knew what he’s going to say.
“You’re tired. Just rest.”
“No, I’m not tired… Eup.”
The boy suddenly covered his mouth and bowed down.
Reef, startled, tossed the bottle and walked up to him.
“Cool, chump!”
Blood gushed out of the boy’s mouth with a strong cough.
“...Olia!”
Reef urgently called the caregiver.
The woman rushed into the room and checked the boy’s condition. She laid his body down halfway, calmed him, and wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth.
Barely stabilized again, she sighed.
“It’s fine now. If he sleep like this and wake up, he’ll feel better.”
“...”
Reef looked down at the unconscious boy with troubled eyes, then she walked out of the room.
Clap.
Closing the door, she rested her chin and forehead against the wall next to her.
A deep tiredness descended on her face.
A small town located near to the capital of the Sixth Lord’s territory.
It was the original home where the siblings lived.
Her younger brother was called a genius in the village.
The wandering knight, Sir Baek, who spent the rest of his life in the village as a swordsmanship instructor, and the mage, Sir Takio, who boasted every day that he was a mage from the tower, said that her younger brother was a genius that would never exist again in the world.
Even Reef, who knew nothing at the time, knew that their words weren’t an exaggeration.
Because, not long after learning swordsmanship and magic, the appearance of the younger brother, who cut down a large tree with a single sword and hurled fireballs to hunt animals, was abnormal to anyone’s eyes.
Her brother was a genius.
To such a younger brother, the fences of a rural village seemed too narrow.
So he decided to leave. Wandering knight Baek said he would be happy to help him find a place in the capital with his personal connections.
The family had a big party the night before his brother left.
The villagers gathered together, filled with joy and sorrow, and prayed for my brother’s future.
It was a late night with a joyful atmosphere.
The sky on one side of the village suddenly turned dark red
Her ears were pounding, and a storm raged. After waking up, the scenery that unfolded before her eyes was collapsed buildings and the corpses of villagers.
A thick fog of blood covered the whole town. The terrifying screams of the residents rang out. There was no memory after that.
She only vaguely remembered her younger brother who was trembling while hugging her and radiating blue light from his hands, and the unknown energy that filled her body.
After waking up, the first thing she saw was her brother, who had lost consciousness by her side.
The whole area was in ruins. No villagers were alive - parents, relatives, and friends.
She thought she was dreaming. But it was a cruel reality.
She and her brother barely lived, and they barely moved to the capital.
Hearing what the passers-by were saying, she finally understood what had happened in their village.
It was said that a spy from Santea was hiding in the Lord’s castle. It was said that the Sixth Lord directly pursued him after he slaughtered the castle officials and ran away.
The place where the battle took place was near her village.
It was said that his brother had a disease called light blood disease. A death disease that inflicted on targets that came into contact with the Sixth Lord’s [Blood Art].
He could have resisted it if he had even a bit of magical power, but for some reason, her younger brother contracted the said disease.
Only then did she realize what the unknown energy that filled her body at that time.
That the younger brother poured all of his magical power into her and was exposed to that terrible mist of blood.
The village was destroyed, the whole family was dead, and the only remaining brother had contacted an incurable disease. It was a life trapped in a gutter in an instant.
She found out that in the capital there was a slave gladiator called Actipol held every day. It was said that if one became a champion, the Sixth Lord would grant their wish.
Was there really any other choice?
She walked directly into that mountain hell and became a gladiator.
Over the past three years, she could have died countless times, but she had survived.
The gladiators of the fifth order could challenge for the title of champion whenever they wanted. Now, the long-awaited goal was right in front of her.
“...”
Reef, who had a cold expression on her face, lifted her head off the wall.
Fight, win, survive and cure her brother’s disease.
It was three hellish years that she endured with only that thought.
As long as she could heal her brother, she didn’t hesitate to get more blood on her sword. It didn’t matter if she built a mountain with dead bodies.
Now, there was nothing to fuss about, and I was not afraid of death either.
There was only one thing I was afraid of.
If you try to challenge the champion and lose, her brother would be left alone.
That was the reason why she was still hesitating, even though there was only one step left.
She looked at the closed door once more and walked to her room.
Her body and her mind were all tired. She wanted to rest.
