There we are.
The general guy said his name is Faris and left us, broo.
Like, he said "come with me" and he even untied us.
They must be this confident.
Wait a sec—
The place I'm standing in is a whole compound,
But it's so big it feels like a city.
Then he took us to the master of the house,
The big brother of the king himself—Fayes Murad Al-nure.
He was sitting down.
I figured I would read about the cities near us just in case,
When I was in the mana drainer dorm.
That's why I know a bit about this kingdom.
The reason why the big brother is alive,
But still the little brother is the king,
Is because he refused to become one.
When the former king Heyan Alnure died,
He gave the one and only Resepi to his firstborn son.
He was able to continue the legacy of his family,
That is well known by their position.
This house is a wall of the city.
From here on out, there are several demons.
As I remember going in that direction,
There is an underground basement,
And there are the three fruit trees that are essential for this position to be made.
And good thing is—
This family's generation is cursed and banned from getting there.
So now, they're using people like us to bring them the fruit.
The fruit blooms every f*cking day,
And we must bring them every day.
I was wondering about it—
And then here I am, getting to see it.
He said it exactly like I expected.
But he didn't tell us the details.
So, you might ask—
Why is he not being careful?
We might steal it and go back to another country or whatever.
The reason is simple—
Whoever cuts the fruit will be cursed
Unless they exorcise the fruit and make it into a potion.
So every fruit is worth a life.
One tree can exactly grow one fruit,
Ready to get cut in 24 hours.
And what if they took it and exorcised it?
No one can do that except the former king's brother—Zehir.
That's what his father passed down to him.
And just like that,
He keeps the family name,
And his little brother keeps the country name.
What a very interesting family.
Their family dynamic is too good to
be true as well.
But all this came by sacrifice—at the very least.
Then they told us to go get it tonight.
Until then, we must refresh ourselves.
The kid with me said,
"Thanks so much, that it's you I'm going in with."
Then I said,
"Well, it doesn't change the fact that we both dead."
He said,
"Wait, we're just going to bring a fruit?"
I said to him,
"Past the wall is not one of the kingdom's territories—
It's the demons' land."
He was so shocked he was about to cry.
Then I said,
"It's okay, really.
The ones who live there are serpents and gigantic earthworms.
Well then, we have an advantage—
They follow smell and hearing.
Because they can't see,
Those monsters depend entirely on hearing.
But they are able to even hear a tiny little dust fall, bro.
Their hearing ability is even bigger than themselves.
This is most likely due to their defense mechanisms—
They actually don't have any.
So they are sensitive to sound."
He said,
"Then what are we going to do?"
Then I said,
"Simple, bro, you just need to get me.
It's all about outsmarting.
We must fly and we must kill one of them
And drench our clothes with the blood.
So hopefully they will mistake us for their dead friend's blood smell,
And we will be fine.
Well, you ready?"
He said,
"I guess it's better than dying.
I still have questions though."
Then I said,
"What is it?"
He said,
"What about the flying stuff?
How are we going to fly?"
Then I said,
"You aura farmer or mana user?"
He said he is an aura farmer.
Then I said,
"Are you special or hunter?"
He said he's special.
Specials only have one skill,
One ability,
One thing—
But just like me,
They can use it to access what they want.
Then I said,
"Tell me about it."
He said he can create fine barriers.
Then I said,
"That's what we need, bro.
Do your barriers get affected by gravity?"
He said,
"No."
"Then we'll be skating on them, bro."
He said,
"What? For real?"
Then I said,
"Trust me.
We kill one of them,
You stand in the middle of the body,
Covered by blood,
And create the barrier.
And I hop on it,
And you send me flying.
Then I make a sound and make them follow me.
Then you drop me inside.
I'm gonna take a weapon.
And if something attacks,
I'm gonna have to fight tonight.
But considering the size,
No underground demons like them can enter—
Even the small ones can't.
So yeah, I'll be fine."
Then he said,
"Yeah, that's good."
Then I said,
"Begin creating the barrier.
Let's see how far you can push me up.
If it's low, then we'll have to create many
So I can dodge their attacks while making sound."
He said,
"What about when you get out?"
Then I said,
"When I get out,
I'll use my weapon—
It's probably a spear.
I'll jump and launch myself, screaming.
The minute I do,
Create your barriers for me, bro.
My life is on the line.
Just make sure you stay close to the door.
Don't be scared.
You are stronger."
As if, bro—
I'm just acting like someone who wants some experience
And trying to approach it by saying,
"You're so damn rich.
You're royal."
Just like how others do.
"You're talented."
He must have never heard it at all.
Assuming he is an aura farmer while still being a noble,
And he ran to here—of all the worst places at that.
Lucky him.
He gets to meet the new gene.
Seems like he can only fly while holding me around 5m — enough for real — but the moment I make sounds, it all snaps. But I'm actually not expecting this from him. Mark my words, guys — today I know we will mess it up. I just want to feel his ego as well. The moment I fall and he sees me almost die, and I use my knowledge about them and survive, he will stop thinking that he was a failure from birth — but a failure the moment he let others call him one.
And I will just act distant so he can at least improve himself by doing exercises. And I will add this:
"Damn, I thought you could pull it off — I mean, just holding me in the air for around 5–6 minutes. And not to mention, you can go higher and faster. Bro, have some courage. You're just standing near the door and lifting me up — that's just your job. Well, at least try to do it right. It's your first go, so go get some rest."
Isn't that brilliant? I'm gonna cook him — so that he would try and beg for my attention not out of brotherhood stuff, but out of guilt, shame, and patheticness.
Then the moment we got out, everyone was watching from the hill. I took a spear and walked out. He was nervous, but I was confident. What mattered was for things to play out just like I planned.
Then I threw a huge stone. One of the earthworms devoured it, and the moment that happened, I ran straight toward the monster and jumped on its back. As I began running, the earthworm coiled and, in an upside-down motion, tried to devour me. But then I jumped straight inside it. Around the middle of its body, I stabbed both sides with the spear, which got stuck, and I used it to turn myself around as I was going down. The spear sliced the worm in a curved motion. Then I jumped out of its back again, slicing its body from tail to head while running.
After I killed it, the barrier kid came after me to get drenched in blood. We got to work. All the others nearby came out the second they smelled their comrade's blood. The barrier kid stood in the middle of the body, doing nothing, shivering. I felt like there was an earthquake down there. He held me up into the sky, but he was too slow.
The distance from the door to the underground basement was 500 meters. I was around 200 meters away from the entrance when he suddenly dropped me, just as I expected. He couldn't hold on any longer. The monsters were hanging onto him, and he made a sound out of cowardice and ran. He would have been fine—they couldn't smell him, only hear him. While he covered himself with a barrier and ran, he left me off guard.
One of the earthworms tried to devour me, but I jumped on its back. Another one devoured me—but didn't digest me because, to eat me, it had to devour the back of its fellow earthworm. I jumped out of its mouth, and another one devoured me again, but it ate the head of the second worm. I survived and entered the basement.
It was a fascinating sight. I saw three trees lined up with golden fruits at the center of their trunks, like hearts. Their roots were modified with mana. These legendary trees used mana and replenished it like a human. Golden liquid from the roots flowed into a small lake surrounding them.
I poured some of the lake's glowing water and took the fruits. The water was a deadly poison for any living creature with mana—one touch and you're dead. Like the fruits, it can only be used for 24 hours. Any longer, and you're dead. But I'm different.
I can talk to my other self. I told Alpha to send me his mana. Since we're spiritually connected, he did. I used his demon mana to collect a drop of the water. Alpha asked why, and I showed him the golden root liquid. He extracted the regenerative juice from it and told me to take it and drink some. I escaped, dodging monsters, but suddenly, my leg was eaten.
The pain of losing a leg changed me. Everyone thought I was dead, but I screamed and kept going. They watched as I regenerated using the water. I lost an arm and regenerated. A leg—regenerated. When I approached the door, they used sand magic to throw me inside safely. Everyone celebrated. After months of suffering, someone had finally brought back the Celestial Fruit.
The barrier user watched and thought to himself: "It's obvious he has no magic, yet he succeeded. Maybe I am the one at fault. I accepted being called worthless and became worthless. I'm supposed to be the brave son of my mom. I let them bully and humiliate me. I used my barrier technique to play hide and seek, and now people laugh at me."
He was the son of Duke Valerian Nightshade of Avangard kingdom—a legendary hunter's son. Yet, he lost to a non-magic kid. He swore to become stronger, take revenge, and surpass everyone.
All that talk came from his ego. Now he understands the situation. Good for him. He's useless now, but I'll help him—get him what he wants. And in return, he'll get me what I want, without even realizing it.
Suddenly, a woman our age approached me. She was talented at sand magic and said, "You're strong. Thank you for helping my family." I replied, "Thanks, but I don't deserve your praise. I only did what I was supposed to."
She offered to pay me a bonus if I'd spare some free time with her. I said, "Sorry, miss, I have my own plans." She asked where my friend was. I said, "That kid? Is he alive?" She said, "Something about him feels royal." I asked if she was royalty too. She said yes and introduced herself: "Princess Layla, daughter of King Fayes."
I stood up and apologized for my informal speech. She told me not to draw attention and said we were the same age. She asked me to help her talk to my friend. I said sure but warned her he was struggling. She replied, "No, he's training hard."
We checked on him. I greeted him, "Yoo buddy, you working out?" He said yeah, while doing push-ups. I told him, "Don't feel sorry for yourself. This is your first time. Failure isn't an end—it's a lesson. You're being paid for the work, not the progress. Do your best. I believe in you."
He said, "You probably don't know a thing about me."
I said, "If there's something you need to spit out, tell me. You thought you'd be judged for it? You told the wrong guy—I'm here to listen. We'll be working together, so let me help."
Even though I say these words, I always wear a poker face. I don't show emotions. That's why I use strong words—to distract people from my blank expression and make them see that I'm decent inside.
Then he told me about his past:
His mother was Zelda Fizz, one of the world's greatest hunters—beautiful, elegant, and forced to marry the duke. She never cared for family until she had him. His father, Duke Valerian Nightshade, expected greatness. But the son ended up with just one aura skill: barrier. Ashamed, the duke remarried. A woman with a kid the same age joined the family, and they harassed him.
One day, his stepbrother transferred to his class and stole all his friends. From then on, he was alone, bullied, and discriminated against. Even the lowest-ranked people looked down on him. He blamed his barrier skill and believed he was worthless. He was sold by slavers and ended up here. Then he saw me defeat the monsters without magic and realized how weak he really was.
The princess cried. She said, "You're not worthless. You have your mom's beauty and strength. You're more famous than you think. My friends and I followed young hunters. You're like a celebrity. I was so sad when you disappeared and happy when I found you."
He asked, "Who are you?" She replied, "I'm Princess Layla, firstborn daughter of King Fayes."
He said, "Wow… the princess. Fancy meeting you here."
They kept talking. Me? I just sparked the reaction and let the product form. Catalyst—or maybe activation energy. Doesn't matter. They're getting close. Time to make another pawn useful. Now he's grateful to me—and I'll use him to get to her, if I ever need to.
The next day, he came and properly introduced himself, saying,
"My name is Zephyr Nightshade. From here on out, I'll be in your care."
Still half-asleep, I groaned,
"Whatever. Would you stop yelling? I'm still sleepy."
He replied,
"But it's breakfast time!"
I sat up slowly.
"Wait—it's already morning? What a rough night. Alright, let's get ready."
We walked out of our room. He seemed happy today—probably had a long talk with her, which must've reminded him of the time when he was well taken care of, before his mother passed away. It's good to see him smiling.
Time to begin his first training. Actually, I had already planned everything in my head.
"Let's eat after we warm up," I told him.
We ran. Did a few light exercises.
Low-key, he looked really happy—and competitive.
She was watching him from her window while getting ready for the academy. I guess her presence is all the motivation he needs to push himself. Terrifying how much influence someone can have, right?
Then I said,
"Let's take a look at your skills. Actually—wait—I already know. All of them are barrier-based. As expected."
This world lacks specialized knowledge. But that's perfect—I can help him grow.
"Now," I continued,
"I want you to create the maximum number and size of barriers you can."
He focused and produced 100 barriers.
Each one was shaped as an octagon with sides about 1.2 to 1.3 meters, giving a full diameter of roughly 3 to 3.15 meters. Each could comfortably fit 5 people moving inside.
What the heck is this kid?
He could only hold them for 3 minutes, and that's without any weight or pressure on the barriers. But even so, it looked like he was holding a ton of weight—like invisible gravity was pushing down on him.
He wasn't physically holding the barriers, yet he felt the strain. Maybe not full weight, but still—if he wanted to carry all 100 barriers with 5 people each, that's 500 people total. That meant he needed to be strong enough to maintain that pressure, control it, and sustain it.
I told him,
"If you can master this, you'll become strong. No doubt."
And just like that, day 1 began.