The Iron town hunter’s association branch administrator was the one who listened to my report. The man was old, with grey-white hair and a beard to his chest. His eyes were sky blue, and every time our eyes met, I could feel shivers run through my spine. He is supposed to be a retired Gold rank hunter who chose a desk job as far as I know.

“Could you describe the Lich you saw?” The old man asked.

“He was all bones, blue flames instead of eyes, like every other Lich. Oh, wait, there was something. He had a staff with a beating heart on it.” I answered him.

“With a beating heart, you say.”

The old man’s eyes narrowed as I nodded. Being alone with him in one room was intense, to say at least. At first glance, he looked like a nice old man who would give cookies to children if he met one. That was what I thought too, but every time his smile disappeared and he frowned, my instincts screamed to be careful of him.

“Yes, sir. That is the only noticeable thing I remember of it.”

“I see, you done well. Tell me, how did you survive?”

“The Lich left after throwing me around. I just left when I regained some strength.”

“Hmm, you don’t know what he was doing there?”

“I heard him talking about Heavenly Demon. That's all I know.”

“Very well, what with that stone sword on your back?”

“It’s for training, sir.”

I could feel his stare intensify. He was searching my face, trying to detect if I was lying. Good thing that technically, I wasn’t lying. I couldn’t trust anyone with the truth of this sword. It didn’t matter what they would want it for, but they would take it from me and leave me to die.

“Good, I like seeing young people training their bodies, especially at a young age.”

“Can I ask if I will get a bonus for this information?”

“Hahaha. No.”

Well, that was a bummer. After my report, I returned to Sarah, and she gave me the reward for my job well done. Before leaving the building, I divided the money and hid it around my body. Few thousand in my boots, a few thousand in my crotch, and so on. I kept only two thousand in my pocket.

It was common practice for me to do so. Some would do so to protect themselves from thieves and pickpocketers. I did so to protect my money from Markus. He will always find me as I leave the association’s building.

Speaking of the devil, I could see him and his goons waiting for me. He always catches me as I get paid and then takes my money. I would say he was smart, but that would give him too much credit. It was basic knowledge for people to rob others when they knew that their victims had something of value.

“Levi, fancy to see you there.”

“Markus, I am tired, and as you can see, my last job didn’t go well. Could you let me go this time?”

“Yeah, no. Now it was a week since the last time you paid. You wouldn’t want for your interest to pile up, wouldn’t you?”

“All I got is two thousand. Please let me at least keep a thousand. No, five hundred will be enough. I just need to fix my armor, please.”

I begged, but I knew he wouldn’t listen. I just needed for him to think that I was desperate. That way, he wouldn’t think that I had more money hidden. It worked like a charm. I could see a sinister smile forming on his face.

“Levi, Levi. You should know by now that your pleading doesn’t work on me. If you were a girl, I might think of a way or two how you could pay me back, but with a face like yours? Let’s just say you should give it up. Jack, Jonny, hold him down.”

“No, there was no need. I will give it to you. Please, I am already pretty beaten up.”

“You see, it wasn’t so difficult.”

Markus laughed and took the two thousand I presented him. As I let out a sigh of relief, he took a swing at me and knocked me to the ground. I should have seen this coming. He isn’t a guy who leaves others alone in peace.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

‘Are you alright, son?’ The Saint of the Sword asked me.

“I’ll be fine.”

‘If I was you, I would stalk them and, when they least expect it, strike them down. It would be best if you could get those bastards in their homes while they sleeping.’

“Oh, Heavenly Demon, please share your knowledge of how I should do so. They are silver rank. I would be noticed if I followed them, and I don’t even have a weapon to strike them.”

‘You just too weak, if I was you, I would catch them then break their fingers one by one. Then after I was tired of their screams, I would cut their tongues. After that, I would rip their eyes out so the last thing they see would be my smile. Finally, to end their suffering, I would set them on fire.’

Yikes, now I know why he was called a demon. Even I wouldn’t go that far. The most I wanted to do was to kill them. I put those thoughts out of my head by the time I got to my apartment. It was nice to clean yourself even in cold water and sleep in your own bed.

…

The next morning I felt refreshed. The sun was already high in the sky when I dressed and left to have some food. I lived in the slums, not far away from the center of the town. It was weird how the brightest place in the town was next to the darkest one.

Anyway, there were plenty of food vendors selling roasted meat. The smell alone makes me smile. There were pork, beef, and chicken ready for me to buy and eat. I did so, spending a few hundred orens to fill my stomach. After eating berries and mushrooms for close to a week, a slice of roasted meat tasted heavenly.

Felling my stomach filled, I went to buy a skill book. Finally, after so long, I can learn a kill. I even skipped a step. I never was so excited. The place that sold the most skill books was the Tower. It is supposed to be the only place with authentic skill books in the empire.

In this town, the Tower’s branch building was taller than the rest of the buildings in the town. It had seven floors filled with skill books. I was only there one time to check if I could afford any, but even the cheapest skill book would cost you a few thousand orens, and the higher the floor was, the higher the cost of them was.

An attendant greeted me at once as I entered the Tower. There are five of them on the first floor waiting for customers to come inside and ask them questions. They seemed to me to be a bit too eager to please. But it was probably weird for me that people talked politely with me.

“Hello customer, welcome to the Tower, the best place to provide you with skill books.”

“I am looking for body strengthening skills, something that could bolster my defenses.”

“Right this away, sir. This whole row is for defensive skills. If you have any more questions, I will be waiting at the counter. Please feel free to look around as you wish.”

With these words, he left me alone. I saw many different skill books, Oakflesh, Dragon scales, Iron skin, etc. I was looking at cheaper ones such as Stoneflesh. With this skill, my muscles can be as hard as a stone. This skill with Iron skin would substitute for any normal armor.

‘What this? Stoneflesh? Don’t tell me you going to learn something useless like this.’

“Useless? Oh, Heavenly Demon, would you like to elaborate more on why it is useless?”

‘It wouldn’t be useful for you, son. This skill would drain too much of your origin energy to activate and keep that way for a long time.’

“It is the best I can get right now. If you have a better suggestion, please tell me. If not, be quiet.”

‘I could teach you how to strengthen your physical form, so you wouldn’t even need a skill.’

“Wait, you can do so, Saint?”

‘Is the least I can do for your help.’

“Then why didn’t you say that from the start?”

“Sir, are you alright?”

An attendant showed up after hearing me speaking with myself. I got embarrassed for a moment but composed myself quickly. I really shouldn’t speak with those bastards in the sword when I am in public. People will start to think that I was crazy.

“I am fine. I just couldn’t find what I wanted and got frustrated. I will be going now, see ya.”

I left the Tower and found a spot to talk.

“So you can teach me?”

‘Yes, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to learn.’

“Good, what do I need to do?”

If I could save some money, there was no need for me to refuse. And if a guy who was called the Saint of the Sword trained me, shouldn’t I become more powerful in less time. I liked this idea the more I thought about it.

‘It is simple, you have to swing the sword, and your body by itself will become stronger.”

“That all?”

‘Yes, it is better for you that you don’t be relying on skills but your own strength.’

“What so bad about skill? Most high ranking hunters use them.”

‘That might be, but skills use too much of your origin energy. You can save that energy and use it more beneficially.’

“Like how?”

‘By transferring that energy to your sword and making it sharper.’

“You can do that?”

‘Yes, son. It isn’t a difficult thing to learn. You only need a bit of practice. First, let’s find a place where you can train in peace.’

Hearing this explanation, I quickly left the town and found an empty spot. I didn’t go too far from the town, but just enough so people wouldn’t wander on me. It was an empty place with a few boulders scattered around and nothing but green grass up to my ankle.

“Well, what do I do now, Saint?”

‘Take the sword, raise it above your head, and swing it downward in a straight line.’

I did as I was told. Grabbing the stony hilt of the sword with both my hands, I raise it above my head. With all my strength, I swung it to the ground. The sword was too heavy, and in the middle of the swing, it slipped from my hands. It embedded into the ground making the dirt fly in the air.

‘The sword is too heavy for you right now.’

“No shit, I haven’t noticed. Thank you for telling me. Damn it all.”

‘Don’t be discouraged. Next time don’t swing with all your strength. Let the sword fall by itself.’

Again I picked up the sword from the ground and raised it above my head. I only pushed the sword with little strength this time and let it fall. I hit the ground with it and made a little hole. I was proud of a somehow successful strike. So I did it five more times, but afterward, I couldn’t lift the sword without my arms shaking.

‘Rest, for now, don’t push yourself too much.’

I did so. Even if I wanted to continue, my arms wouldn’t listen to me. I sat next to one of the boulders and drank some water from my canteen. After resting for half an hour, I continued until the sun wasn’t visible anymore.