Raven didn’t know why he was protecting the snake’s eggs. Although he was conscious, his ultra instinct had made him do it. When he closed his eyes under the rock, he was certain he would die. Even if, by some miracle, the snake left him alone, his organs would be crushed from lying under the rock for hours by the time he woke up. In other words, survival was impossible from here on out.
In his unconsciousness, he saw a few nightmares—nightmares in which he didn’t need to grow stronger, where he lived a peaceful life, with children, a spouse, and the people he loved. Suddenly, he jerked out of his dream and returned to reality. He was still lying in the same place. He looked around, and there was no pressure on him. The rock was gone. For a moment, he thought it had all been a dream, but the pain from his broken ribs reminded him of reality. His spine had also been injured by the falling rock, but the rock was gone.
Raven crawled toward the wall and leaned against it. When he looked at the spot where he had been lying, he saw that the eggs he had been protecting were also gone. The only possibility was that someone had saved him from the rock and stolen the eggs. However, he knew no one could steal the eggs from such a powerful snake. If someone were that strong, there would be no reason not to take Raven with them. In this case, the only one who could have taken the eggs was their mother. This left only one possibility—that the snake had moved the rock.
He looked around and saw that most of the cave’s entrance had been blocked by the rock. The snake had created a shelter to protect him and had saved his life. He still didn’t know why his instincts had made him protect the eggs, but at least they had made him understand that the snake wouldn’t kill him. And that’s why he had acted as he did. He realized that if his instincts had led him to escape instead of protecting the eggs, he could have fled with less damage. Although he considered this a flaw in his instincts, it didn’t matter compared to the skill he had gained. Now, with his mastered instincts, combined with his consciousness, strategy, and advanced techniques, he could fight with incredible physical power.
From this point forward, the only thing left to do was focus on physical training until he could learn magic. His cracked obsidian alloy sword, at the basic level, had been completely destroyed under the rock. Despite this, he made a bag from his clothes, tied the mouth of the bag, and packed the sword pieces to give to a blacksmith later. Hoping he wouldn’t run into anything dangerous, he limped past the barricade the snake had created. Night had already fallen, and when he looked up and sniffed the air, he found it to be freezing cold. Though the wind wasn’t strong, it carried an incredibly cold breeze mixed with the scent of trees. Raven couldn’t feel the cold due to the pain in his body, but his limbs kept going numb as he walked.
As the price for mastering his ultra instinct, he was left with a slashed abdomen, broken ribs, a fractured left wrist, an almost broken spine, and the loss of his sword. Still, he was quite satisfied. Despite limping and walking in pain, he walked with his head held high and his steps sure. Raven would much prefer this over walking healthily but without honor. However, what he feared most was encountering a monster while crippled and without a sword. In his current condition, he couldn’t even catch a rabbit.
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After walking for what felt like hours, he finally saw the mansion. But if the guards saw him, everything would be revealed. Since it was impossible to sneak into the mansion without using the main gate, there was no way he could enter unnoticed. That meant he would have to spend the night in a tavern in the city. Even though he was from the Hunter family, there was little chance anyone would recognize him by his face alone. The only problem was money, but he would find a way to solve that, too. After changing his route, he finally entered the city.
Everyone was staring at him because of his injured state. First, he needed new clothes. Knowing these streets better than anyone, he knew exactly where to get them. Limping, he headed for an alley and turned the corner. Three men were leaning against the walls. Two were leaning on the same wall side by side, while the other was leaning against the opposite wall. They were talking about something, and judging by their appearance, they were drunk and looked quite defenseless. Next to them was a young man with a bruised eye, clearly beaten, and barely standing in his torn clothes.
Raven walked toward the alley as the conversations grew closer. The trio raised their heads and looked at him, but the beaten man kept his head down, still staring at the ground. One of the men spoke up:
"You’ve got no business being here, kid. But since you’ve come to us, we can’t let you leave empty-handed."
As Raven limped toward them, keeping his broken arm close to his abdomen, he used his other hand to support himself against the wall, drawing closer. One of the men pulled out a knife and started walking toward him.
Raven muttered quietly, "I think knocking you out won’t hurt as much as what I do after I knock you out."
The man walking toward him with the knife didn’t understand and asked, "Huh? What are you talking about?" He lunged at Raven with the knife. Raven sidestepped, dislocated the man’s arm with his right hand, and kicked him in the back with his left leg, sending him flying to the ground. As the man writhed in pain, the other two pulled out their knives and charged toward him. Even if he wasn’t in a narrow alley, Raven couldn’t jump. If he did, the slash on his abdomen would tear open further, and it already hurt unbearably. But Raven was no ordinary street kid even before his training—he had always been a master fighter. His genius battle body was part of the reason, of course.
The old Raven would have used a bunch of techniques to dodge all the attacks. But now, even if he didn’t dodge, an ordinary knife couldn’t easily cut through his skin. Grabbing the first man’s arm, Raven hurled him against the wall with all his strength. The man screamed in pain, and the loud sound echoed as the man left an obvious imprint on the wall. The last remaining man, after seeing what had happened, pulled back his knife and started running. Normally, Raven wouldn’t have let him go, and now he desperately needed money. He grabbed the knife that had fallen to the ground from the man he threw into the wall and threw it at the fleeing man’s back, causing him to collapse as he ran.