"Ah..."

  Adam inwardly sighed.

  He thought he understood the true reason his friend had insisted the man was indeed his father's son. It wasn't just because of the similarity in hair and eye color.

  Despite having no resemblance to his father, there was something about the man that evoked memories of him. Adam couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was—perhaps a slight similarity in the shape of the eyes, a part of the face, the mouth, or even the way he moved.

  Adam and his friend only knew their father from portraits, though they had met him briefly when they were very young. While the exact memories were not clear, the impressions from that time lingered.

  Perhaps this man resembled something from those lingering memories.

  Maybe knowing he was the son of his father influenced Adam’s feelings.

  Deep inside, a certainty had taken root—this man was indeed his son.

  "..."

  It had been twenty-five years since his father had entered the forest.

  This man must have spent his childhood gazing at his father's face, possibly loved or resented for being a kidnap victim.

  But he would have been treated as a legitimate son by his father’s side.

  At the very least, not neglected.

  "..."

  Jealousy pierced Adam's heart.

  He resented this man, this son of his father, who had effortlessly received everything Adam had desperately longed for.

  Kill him.

  Not a place to die, but to kill this man.

  Destroy him utterly, obliterate him from this world, this man who didn’t realize how fortunate he was.

  These thoughts crept up from the depths of his being.

  As these thoughts surged, the soil around his feet began to stir.

  Without chanting any spells, the earth responded to his emotions.

  Such a phenomenon had never occurred in his life before.

  'Why now?'

  If such powers had emerged when he was a child or a teenager, perhaps his life could have been different.

  Regardless of his birth, he might have felt more useful.

  His life might have taken a softer, more favorable direction.

  'But it's too late.'

  It was already too late.

  Despair had closed in, leaving no room to retreat.

  Standing on the edge of a self-made cliff, neither advancing nor retreating was an option.

  Adam glared at the man standing opposite him.

  He had heard that the man was a powerful wind user.

  Would his father have been proud?

  He loathed the man, born with his father's hair and eyes, using wind magic so effortlessly.

  'I'm just a humble earth mage.'

  Earth magic is understated.

  Unlike the immediate creation of fire or wind, earth reacts slower.

  It can trap a person's feet but moves too slowly.

  If an earth mage attempts to seize something from the ground, the target has already moved several steps ahead.

  No earth mage in his memory could mount a soil attack quickly enough to be effective in combat.

  Useless.

  That’s why earth mages were usually employed in large-scale construction projects.

  Building castles or fortifying riverbanks.

  Absolutely mundane.

  Though they participated in wars, unlike other mages, earth mages were used for fortifying strongholds or constructing defenses.

  Even then, it wasn’t a solo effort but required the combined strength of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands to be effective.

  If Adam had grown up in a typical earth mage family, he might have been one of those workers.

  But he was born into a family of fire mages and bore an innate misfortune.

  Thus, Adam was desperate to prove his utility.

  He developed methods suitable for solo combat, which allowed him to be recognized as a member of his mother's family.

  Used as a graft to mix earth talents into a fire mage lineage.

  Ordinary earth magic would shift soil or create a void, but Adam manipulated the density of soil in a very small area.

  This used less energy and was quicker than moving soil from here to there, up or down.

  Adam's earth magic was implemented dozens of times faster than usual.

  While less flashy than fire or water, or less visible than wind, it was accurate enough for attack.

  Like now.

  Chanting quietly, Adam advanced towards the man he despised.

  Each step he took caused the earth to rustle, decreasing its density.

  Yet, the man hadn’t moved.

  Knowing Adam’s intent to attack, he remained nonchalant.

  Probably underestimating him because he was just an earth mage.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  'He doesn't realize he’s standing over his own grave.'

  Adam felt more powerful than ever before.

  At this moment, he believed he could kill the man.

  That must be why.

  For once, he felt the leisure to hurl his hatred in words.

  Adam fixed his gaze on the man and moved his lips.

  ***

  I believed in my mother’s principles.

  To avoid being an outlaw, one must have rules.

  But sometimes, those rules were too strict.

  It would be easier to kill when it's a grey area.

  It wouldn’t be so dull, and there would be no need to drag things out.

  I sighed softly.

  I often wondered why people felt the need to talk before fighting or right before killing.

  Because I waited for the opponent to make a move, I ended up listening to unnecessary words until they finally said something trivial.

  Like now.

  The earth mage who had walked up to him stopped and glared.

  His lips twitched.

  He had been chanting a spell until moments ago, but now it seemed he just wanted to speak.

  But he was so angry that words seemed to fail him.

  His lips fluttered like a fish’s, indicating his immense anger.

  He was probably about my age, so maybe this was a grudge related to his parents.

  I knew the earth mage was planning something.

  But there wasn’t enough intent to kill yet.

  I needed solid evidence that he intended to kill me.

  After all, rules are there for a reason.

  Waiting for such evidence, the man finally spoke.

  "I will never acknowledge you, never accept you as my father’s son."

  "..."

  What the hell is he saying?

  I was expecting a threat or something definitive, and the betrayal of expectations made me angry instead.

  That was the moment.

  I felt a lightness under my feet.

  Like sensing the ground was about to give way.

  Maybe it's because I'm of barbarian descent, or perhaps it's a sixth sense developed from numerous brushes with death, but I instinctively know when danger is imminent.

  I swiftly wrapped my arm around Tatiana's waist.

  With wind swirling around my other hand, I struck downwards.

  Using the flow of the wind, I propelled us upwards.

  Normally, I’d kick off the ground for propulsion, but my instincts told me that was a bad idea this time.

  "Taaaaaa!"

  Tatiana screamed as we shot up like a rocket.

  Strange.

  The speed shouldn’t hurt, but her scream was loud.

  Suddenly, Tatiana looked down and jolted.

  Right after I had lifted us, the ground where we had stood caved in.

  The spot was hollowed out like a manhole, with elongated soil spikes aiming towards the center.

  Anyone else would have been trapped in the narrow hole, impaled by those spikes.

  Good.

  "Black."

  I couldn’t help but smile.

  Great, now we can go herb-picking.

  I grinned as I glanced down at Tatiana beside me.

  She seemed a bit scared.

  Her face was pale.

  Ah, of course.

  We were still falling.

  Everything that goes up must come down.

  I’m not a bird, so we fall faster to the ground.

  But there’s no need to worry.

  I’ll make sure we land without a single hair or a bit of skin harmed.

  But first, a warning is necessary.

  We're not just landing; we need to deal with that earth mage too.

  "Hold on tight, Tatiana. Be careful not to bite your tongue."

  "Uh!"

  Our lady is cute and pretty.

  She seems to understand quickly.

  Instead of responding, she just clamped her mouth shut and widened her eyes, clearly getting the message.

  I wrapped wind around my legs to control our landing while reaching behind my back.

  The moment I grasped the axe slung on my back, I was already falling towards the earth mage.

  I swung the axe lightly.

  It seems the earth mage can only use earth.

  I was cautious of knives or hidden weapons, but nothing came.

  Snip.

  As the earth mage extended his arms, probably to argue something, his head was severed.

  The mage’s body stood briefly before slowly tilting forward and falling to the ground.

  'Yeah, that’s good.'

  I landed and shook the axe lightly to flick off the blood.

  The handle extended to steel made the axe just right for me.

  It feels like my hand has grown.

  Just a light flick is all it takes to cleanly remove anything.

  The axe my mother gave me was fine, but it seemed too light for me.

  Like an adult playing with a child’s toy.

  The current weight is just right.

  'It cost a bit, but it was worth it.'

  I nodded in satisfaction, but then Tatiana started gagging.

  "Uh, sorry. Tatiana. Was that too shaky?"

  I tapped her back lightly, and Tatiana, still pale, began to vomit even more.

  Is it wrong to pat someone on the back when they’re vomiting?

  Confused, I noticed the gatekeeper running towards us, a canteen in hand.

  Ah, right, water.

  I quickly opened the leather canteen I wore at my waist and offered it to Tatiana.

  "Here’s some water."

  "Uh..."

  Tatiana bent over, waiting for the nausea to pass before rinsing her mouth with water.

  The gatekeeper approached and chuckled.

  "Mr. Rafa, should I take care of the body?"

  "Ah, let’s do that. Just a moment."

  After ensuring Tatiana calmed down, I walked over to the deceased earth mage.

  The laws of this world are peculiar—attacking and robbing someone is a crime, but the victor keeping the deceased’s belongings isn’t a problem.

  Of course, if the deceased has companions, that complicates matters.

  Even in this world, the law doesn’t automatically transfer the belongings of the dead to the living.

  But as they say, while the law is distant, fists are closer; it’s customarily allowed for the victor to take the dead person’s belongings.

  I learned that after coming to this city.

  Leaving the corpse’s belongings untouched would mean they’d end up in the hands of whoever passes by later anyway.

  However, there are still rules to observe: personal items that could identify someone, like family crests or guild deposit certificates, shouldn’t be touched.

  They could serve as evidence of robbery.

  It’s like a loophole for denial in case of being caught.

  I rummaged through the earth mage’s body and found a pouch of gold coins.

  Besides that, there was a small brooch set with jewels.

  And a lace handkerchief.

  The backpack contained clothes and food.

  This is fine.

  I gathered these items and stepped back.

  "Is it alright to leave so much?"

  The gatekeeper's eyes widened.

  Seeing the mantle, high-quality shirts, pants, and shoes, he swallowed his saliva.

  Even the scarf around the man’s neck, if cleaned of blood, would fetch a good price.

  "That’s fine. It doesn’t fit me or Tatiana anyway, and it’s too much hassle to sell everything."

  Besides, the clothes were blood-stained.

  It feels cursed and unlucky.

  If there’s nothing to take, I’d usually have to pay about one lira for the disposal of the body, so think of it as covering that cost.

  Of course, the value is much higher than one lira.

  "Thank you, Mr. Rafa!" the gatekeeper said, bowing happily.

  Tatiana seemed alright now.

  Her face was still pale, but she wasn’t vomiting anymore.

  "Tatiana."

  Worried, I looked at her face, and she gazed back at me and took a quiet breath.

  "Oh, just... I realized anew how strong you are, Mr. Rafa. It’s like you’re from a different world, and I’m feeling a bit complicated."

  "..."

  I didn’t quite understand what she meant.

  Tatiana covered her mouth with her hand after glancing at the decapitated earth mage.

  Seems like she’s gagging again.

  I heard she had never killed anyone before.

  Maybe she was shocked by the corpse.

  After resting for a bit, we headed to our original destination, the herb site.

  She seemed to feel a bit better as we moved away from the corpse.

  Tatiana’s complexion improved significantly.

  She wandered off the path between the hard ground and the withered trees.

  The crunching of her shoes against the ground was audible.

  Rella had been missing since we left the city.

  These days, he often disappears somewhere with his mother for hours.

  Tatiana is excited, thinking maybe he’s practicing, but I suspect he’s just playing.

  I wouldn’t know; hunting or fighting is one thing, but for herb-picking, which requires a discerning eye and isn’t helped by me, I just watched Tatiana pass the time.

  "Here it is."

  After a while of proudly scouring for herbs, Tatiana held out her hands.

  What she showed me were a few slender roots, like bellflower roots.

  I thought there would be a lot in a so-called herb site, but it seemed too scant.

  And I thought herbs meant plants, not tree roots.

  Disappointed by my reaction, Tatiana explained with spitting enthusiasm.

  "It might not look like much, but this is incredibly valuable. It’s used in many things. Alone, it’s highly poisonous and very hard to obtain. Even among witches, it’s rarely shared."

  Her eyes widened as she spoke earnestly.

  This was very precious.

  Adorable.

  Unintentionally, I patted her head, and Tatiana’s face soured.

  "Mr. Rafa, you seem to be mistaken. I’m not a child. I’m already..."

  I know, I heard it before.

  If I thought she was a child, we wouldn’t have gotten married.

  We wouldn’t have done that at night.

  Ah... my.

  My wife is too cute, and I kept patting her head until she got annoyed.

  Even on the way back, she was adorable.

  No, not the road, but Tatiana was adorable.

  A bit angry, she walked ahead of me, her head bobbing cutely.

  Is this what they call a lovers' quarrel?

  Following a sulking Tatiana was too delightful.

  We were almost within sight of the city walls when a pale-faced soldier came running.

  It seemed like a busy day for the gatekeepers and soldiers.

  The soldier, spotting me, ran even faster and shouted.

  "Mr. Rafa! Disaster! Hel, Helga has appeared!"

  Huh?

  Tatiana stopped dead.

  I halted too.

  The soldier shouted again.

  "Helga has appeared! Please help!"

  For a moment, I wondered if my mother had shown up, but no, this was strange.

  If my mother appeared, she wouldn’t ask for my help.

  We look exactly like twins.

  Tatiana seemed to think the same, looking back at me with wide eyes and murmuring.

  "Who could it be?"

  Exactly.

  Who has appeared?